Jaakko M S Yrjänä1, Teppo Koski2, Helena Törölä2, Marita Valkama2, Petri Kulmala3. 1. PEDEGO Research Unit and MRC Oulu, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland. Electronic address: jaakko.yrjana@oulu.fi. 2. PEDEGO Research Unit and MRC Oulu, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland. 3. PEDEGO Research Unit and MRC Oulu, University of Oulu and Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland; Biomedicine Research Unit, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The optimal age for the introduction of solid foods for infants has long been a controversial issue. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the early introduction of semisolid foods influences the incidence of food allergy or atopic dermatitis among preterm infants. METHODS: Retrospective data from 464 preterm infants born in Oulu University Hospital between 2008 and 2012 were analyzed. Age- and sex-matched full-term control children from the general population were identified. The primary outcome of the study was the difference in timing of the introduction of complementary feeding between preterm and full-term infants. The secondary outcomes were the incidences of food allergies and atopic dermatitis by the ages of 1 and 2 years. RESULTS: Semisolid food was introduced at the median corrected age of 1.4 months for all preterm infants, at 1.9 months for late preterm, at 0.9 months for very preterm, and at 0.1 months for extremely preterm infants. The cumulative incidence, either of food allergies or of atopic dermatitis, did not differ significantly between preterm infants and controls by the ages of 1 and 2 years. CONCLUSION: The very early introduction of complementary foods into the diet of preterm babies did not increase the incidence of food allergies or atopic dermatitis even among the most preterm infants. This finding supports the hypothesis that the gut-associated lymphoid tissue of preterm infants is ready to encounter food proteins and to begin the maturation process within 3 to 6 months of birth, regardless of gestational age.
BACKGROUND: The optimal age for the introduction of solid foods for infants has long been a controversial issue. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the early introduction of semisolid foods influences the incidence of food allergy or atopic dermatitis among preterm infants. METHODS: Retrospective data from 464 preterm infants born in Oulu University Hospital between 2008 and 2012 were analyzed. Age- and sex-matched full-term control children from the general population were identified. The primary outcome of the study was the difference in timing of the introduction of complementary feeding between preterm and full-term infants. The secondary outcomes were the incidences of food allergies and atopic dermatitis by the ages of 1 and 2 years. RESULTS: Semisolid food was introduced at the median corrected age of 1.4 months for all preterm infants, at 1.9 months for late preterm, at 0.9 months for very preterm, and at 0.1 months for extremely preterm infants. The cumulative incidence, either of food allergies or of atopic dermatitis, did not differ significantly between preterm infants and controls by the ages of 1 and 2 years. CONCLUSION: The very early introduction of complementary foods into the diet of preterm babies did not increase the incidence of food allergies or atopic dermatitis even among the most preterm infants. This finding supports the hypothesis that the gut-associated lymphoid tissue of preterm infants is ready to encounter food proteins and to begin the maturation process within 3 to 6 months of birth, regardless of gestational age.
Authors: Maria Elisabetta Baldassarre; Raffaella Panza; Francesco Cresi; Guglielmo Salvatori; Luigi Corvaglia; Arianna Aceti; Maria Lorella Giannì; Nadia Liotto; Laura Ilardi; Nicola Laforgia; Luca Maggio; Paolo Lionetti; Carlo Agostoni; Luigi Orfeo; Antonio Di Mauro; Annamaria Staiano; Fabio Mosca Journal: Ital J Pediatr Date: 2022-08-05 Impact factor: 3.288