Eczema and infant diet.
The relationship between prenatal atopy, breast-feeding, early solid food diet and the rate of eczema was studied in a birth cohort of 2-year-old children. Rates of eczema varied significantly with parental atopy and solid feeding: children of atopic parents given solid food during the first 4 months had over two-and-a-half times the rate of eczema of children not given solid food and who had non-atopic parents. Further, rates of eczema increased in almost direct proportion to the number of different types of solid food that the child had been given during the first 4 months. Breast-feeding had no significant effect on rates of eczema. The results suggest that both parental atopy and diversity in early diet are factors which contribute towards rates of childhood eczema.
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004485:Eczema / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000235:genetics; D007225:Infant Food / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk