Goat Milk-Based Infant Formula and the Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Infants: A Real-World-Evidence...

Infants often experience gastro-intestinal (GI) symptoms whereby their nutrition might play a role in the occurrence of these symptoms. Evidence suggests that consuming goat milk-based infant formula (GMF) may provide relief. Therefore, a study was performed to assess the prevalence of GI symptoms in infants and the role of GMF.

From June 2021 until November 2022, a cross-sectional observational survey was conducted in Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and The Netherlands by recruiting parents/legal guardians through social media. GI symptoms after introduction of GMF were questioned using the validated Cow's Milk-Related Symptom Score (CoMiSS; scoring 0-33), lower scores indicate fewer symptoms. Occurrence of crying, gassiness, eczema, respiratory symptoms and stool consistency were asked retrospectively before and ≥ 14 days after introduction of GMF.

The study population (n = 425) of GMF-consumers mostly consisted of 0-6 months-old infants with a median age of 5 months. Overall, CoMiSS was low among GMF-consumers (median 1.00, IQR 4.00, range 0-14) of which 89% had CoMiSS ≤ 6 (n = 317), indicating (severity of) symptoms commonly present in healthy infants. After introduction of GMF, the majority of infants had lower symptom scores of gassiness (87%, n = 128), skin symptoms (78%, n = 32), watery stools/diarrhea (80%, n = 32) or hard stools/constipation (84%, n = 57), and crying (87%, n = 122). The CoMiSS in GMF-consumers was significantly lower, meaning fewer symptoms, compared to GMF-non-consumers (p = < 0.001). CoMiSS was similar among categories of age, sex, and country of residence.

This sample of infants fed GMF showed a low prevalence of GI symptoms and parents reported lower prevalence of GI symptoms after introduction of GMF based on retrospectively questionnaires. CoMiSS in GMF-consumers was significantly lower when compared to GMF-non-consumers. These results give indications of a potential benefit of GMF in managing GI symptoms in infants. Clinicaltrial. gov identifier NCT06755424.