TOPLINE

Children who were introduced to meat earlier in their first year of life were less likely to be diagnosed with food allergy at age 6, whereas the timing of introducing complementary foods showed no association with the risk for atopic eczema or allergic asthma.

METHODOLOGY

• Researchers analyzed data from the Swedish NICE birth cohort to assess whether the timing of introducing complementary foods in the first year of life was associated with the diagnosis of food allergy, atopic eczema, or allergic asthma later in childhood.
• They included 462 children (47% boys) with valid dietary data; allergy data were available for 430 children.
• During the infants’ first year of life, parents completed monthly web-based questionnaires that covered questions on breastfeeding, formula feeding, and the introduction of 18 predefined foods (eg, potatoes, fruits, berries, nuts, peanuts, bread, butter, margarine, oils, cow’s milk, dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, and porridge).
• At age 6, a pediatric allergy specialist assessed the children. Food allergy was diagnosed based on medical history and confirmed by at least one food challenge, except in rare cases.

TAKEAWAY

• At age 6, 3.7% of children had food allergy, 16% had atopic eczema, and 12% had allergic asthma.
• Children who were introduced to meat earlier had a 24% lower risk for food allergy at age 6 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.76); the association strengthened after excluding children with food allergy at age 1 year (aOR, 0.64; P < .05 for both).
• Earlier introduction of margarine was associated with a higher risk for food allergy (aOR, 1.29; P = .007); however, this association likely reflected reverse causation because it lost statistical significance after excluding children with food allergy at age 1.
• Earlier introduction of eggs was associated with lower odds of food allergy at age 6; however, statistical significance was lost after accounting for family history of allergy. The timing of food introduction was not associated with the risk for atopic eczema or allergic asthma.

IN PRACTICE

“Our results suggest that earlier introduction of meat may be associated with a lower risk of food allergies later in childhood, although this finding must be interpreted with caution as causality cannot be proven,” the authors of the study wrote.

SOURCE

Mia Stråvik, PhD, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden, was the corresponding author of the study, which was published online on June 17 in Nutrition Journal.

LIMITATIONS

The study included a moderate sample size, used questionnaires that focused on foods that are common in Sweden, and did not measure portion sizes.

DISCLOSURES

This study was supported by multiple sources, including the Swedish Research Council; the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare; and Västra Götaland Region. The authors reported having no relevant conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.