title: Timing of introduction of gluten and celiac disease risk.
abstract: Breast milk is the natural nutrition for infants, but in the second half of the first year of life, complementary feeding is needed. Many complementary foods contain gluten, but gluten exposure is associated with the risk of developing celiac disease (CD). CD is a disease with considerable morbidity and mortality. Although CD is associated with certain genetic features, carrying the human leukocyte antigen haplotypes DQ2 or DQ8 (a prerequisite for CD development) cannot fully explain who will or who will not develop CD. Potential risk factors for CD include perinatal events and infant feeding practice. With the exception that children who are breastfed at and beyond gluten introduction into the diet probably may be at a lower risk of developing CD, and that heavy gluten load early in life may increase the risk of future CD, data on the impact of infant feeding are inconsistent.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital and Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. jonasludvigsson@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Jonas F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Ludvigsson
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fasano
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D004032:Diet; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005983:Glutens / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012307:Risk Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D005983:Glutens