Does Terminating the Avoidance of Cow's Milk Lead to Growth in Height

Cow's milk allergy is known to result in decreased body height; accordingly, the aim of this study was to investigate whether termination of milk avoidance leads to an increase in body height.

Between 2010 and 2011, 253 children with food allergies who were ≥2 years of age visited our outpatient department; 195 had height data available from approximately 1 year after their initial food allergy diagnosis and were included in the study. The height standard deviation scores (HtSDs) were calculated using data from the 2000 Japanese National Physical Growth Survey Report for Infants and Children, and changes in height were then retrospectively evaluated using clinical records.

The mean age of the 195 patients was 5.8 ± 3.0 years. The mean HtSDs increased significantly from -0.19 ± 0.99 at diagnosis to -0.12 ± 1.02 (p = 0.025) 1 year later for all children. The HtSDs of 110 cases had increased, but the HtSDs of 85 cases had decreased 1 year after the initial diagnosis. The only significant factor related to increased HtSD was tolerated milk allergy 1 year after the initial diagnosis (p = 0.004).

Terminating the avoidance of cow's milk might lead to growth in height, although a prospective study with a larger sample size is needed to confirm these results.