Adolescents with cow's milk allergy show comparable milk consumption to their peers

Adolescents with cow's milk allergy show comparable milk consumption to their peers

In a recently published study in theEuropean Journal of Clinical NutritionResearchers from Finland examined whether adolescents who suffered from cow's milk allergy during childhood but were now tolerant to cow's milk continued to consume lower amounts of dairy products than their counterparts who were not allergic to cow's milk during childhood.

They also examined vitamin D concentrations in these adolescents and potential associations between cow's milk allergy and altitude differences.

background

Between 0.5% and 2.4% of children in Europe are diagnosed with cow's milk allergy in their infancy and must follow a milk elimination diet. While milk is a natural source of essential nutrients such as calcium, protein and iodine in many countries, it is also fortified with vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol.

Liquid dairy products and fat spreads in Finland are fortified with vitamin D3, and serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in children are largely determined by milk consumption.

However, cow's milk allergy is also associated with lower vitamin D levels in Finnish children. While most children become tolerant to cow's milk by the age of three, studies have suggested that some remain allergic and that dieting milk to eliminate it has been linked to shorter heights.

About the study

In the present study, researchers examined whether the implementation of diets in the first three years of life in children suffering from cow's milk allergy reduced vitamin D concentration levels and growth.

Studies have reported that food preferences are generally formed in children during the first three years of life, and children who pursued milk elimination diet during early childhood due to milk allergy in early childhood showed less overall variation in their diet.

Data on the dietary habits of adolescents who were allergic to cow's milk and followed a milk elimination diet during childhood are limited.

In addition, studying the dietary preferences of adolescents with a history of cow's milk allergy is important because adolescence is the developmental stage in which an individual undergoes various transitional changes, including dietary preferences.

To compare intake of dietary preferences and dairy products between adolescents with and without a history of cow's milk allergy during childhood, researchers invited adolescents who had participated in a previous randomized control trial examining cow's milk allergy in infants. They also recruited cross-age controls without cow's milk allergy.

Food frequency questionnaires were used to collect data on vitamin D sources in diet and cheese consumption. The vitamin D sources questionnaire assessed the amount of milk consumed in the diet directly with cereal in the form of yogurt or porridge, and added to tea or coffee.

This questionnaire also examined other sources of vitamin D in the diet such as egg and egg-based foods, meat, poultry, fish, cooking fat, fat spreads and wild mushrooms. The questionnaires were also used to calculate the healthy eating index.

Participants' anthropometric variables such as height and weight were measured and blood samples collected after overnight fasting were analyzed using immunoassays to determine serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.

Results

The study found that adolescents who had cow's milk allergy in childhood were not exposed to milk reintroduction during their adolescence or their vitamin D insufficiency compared to their counterparts who did not suffer from cow's milk allergy when they were infants.

Furthermore, no differences were observed in healthy eating index scores between the two groups. While the intake of dairy products in liquid form was below the recommended limits in Finland for all participants, serum vitamin D levels showed no insufficiency.

The study also found that body mass index and height standard deviation assessments showed no difference between adolescents who were allergic to cow's milk during childhood and those who were not.

These results were supported by previous studies showing that overall growth in children with cow's milk allergies caught up to normal levels once the milk elimination diet was stopped.

Median intakes of dairy products such as milk also did not differ significantly between adolescents with a history of cow's milk allergy and those who were not allergic to cow's milk during childhood.

Conclusions

The study showed that the milk elimination diet for the treatment of cow's milk allergy in infants did not significantly affect the reintroduction of milk and milk products during adolescence or affect their vitamin D levels or growth.

In addition, current methods of treating cow's milk allergy appeared adequate to counteract the nutritional disadvantages of the cow's milk diet.

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