Weaning to an extensively hydrolyzed casein formula during infancy did not result in a reduction in the incidence of type 1 diabetes.
Highlights
- Delaying the exposure to complex foreign proteins such as cow's milk proteins would not decrease the risk of diabetes.
- A study was done regarding the potential role of //cow's milk formula in the development of type 1 diabetes.
- After 10 years of follow-up, it was found that early exposure to cow’s milk may not cause type 1 diabetes.
After breastfeeding, infants were either weaned to a special formula (extensively hydrolyzed casein formula), with the cow's milk proteins split into small peptides (small pieces of the protein), or a regular cow's milk-based formula with intact cow's milk proteins.
Infants were fed the study formula for at least two months until the age of 6 to 8 months and at the same time were given no cow's milk proteins from any other food sources. The children were followed for at least 10 years to determine which children developed diabetes.
At 11.5 years of follow up, weaning to an extensively hydrolyzed casein formula during infancy did not result in a reduction in the incidence of type 1 diabetes compared to regular, intact cow's milk-based formula.
"After more than 15 years of effort, this study puts to rest the controversy regarding the potential role of cow's milk formula in the development of type 1 diabetes," said Becker. "This once more shows us that there is no easy way to prevent type 1 diabetes. Accordingly, there is no evidence to revise the current dietary recommendations for infants at high risk for type 1 diabetes. We need to chip away at our research efforts around the world to find interventions that may change the pre-diabetes course. Ongoing work of our study is doing just that."
- Dorothy Becker et al., ‘Modifying baby formula doesn't prevent type 1 diabetes in children.’ Journal of the American Medical Association. (2017).
Source-Medindia