Study on the relationship among early infants' feeding patterns, exposure factors, and food allergy

WANG Ping; PENG Caixia; MA Qi; TAN Xia; ZHU Wendan; ZHANG GuiRuo; ZHANG Le; LIU Yan

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Journal of Hunan Normal University(Medical Science) ›› 2025, Vol. 22 ›› Issue (2) : 37-43.

Clinical Medicine

Study on the relationship among early infants' feeding patterns, exposure factors, and food allergy

WANG Ping¹, PENG Caixia², MA Qi¹, TAN Xia¹, ZHU Wendan¹, ZHANG GuiRuo¹, ZHANG Le¹, LIU Yan¹

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Abstract

Objective To explore the relationship among early infant feeding methods, exposure factors, and food allergy, to provide a reference for preventing food allergy. Methods This study was conducted in the Children's Health Center of Changsha Hospital For maternal and Child Health Care from May 2023 to May 2024. The questionnaire was completed by 71 healthy newborns and 137 infants with food allergies within the first 36 months of life. The study adopts univariate and binary logistics regression to analyze the relationship between feeding methods and infant food allergy. Results Among 208 newborn participants, 136 cases (65.4%) with a family history of allergy, and the difference between the two groups was statistically significant. Among 137 infants with food allergies, skin symptoms are the most common (70.8%) , followed by growth disorders and feeding difficulties (41.6%), and gastrointestinal symptoms (36.4%) , and 16.7% of the infants had three or more clinical symptoms, while 49.6% of infants with a single symptom. Milk and eggs were the most common sources of food allergens (89.1% and 55.5%) ; 32.1% of infants were allergic to one food, and 29.2% were allergic to three or more foods. Univariate analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences between the two groups in the main feeding methods of infants at 6 months of age. While there were no significant differences in delivery mode, supplement formula milk within one month after birth, complementary foods add time, drug use in infancy, and infants' exposure to smoking environment and plush toys. Binary Logistic regression results showed that the primary feeding pattern in the first six months of life was significantly correlated with an infant's food allergy, and artificial feeding was a risk factor leading to food allergy, especially in those with a family history of allergy. There was no statistical relationship between adding supplement formula milk at three days of birth or within three days to one month of birth and food allergy. Conclusion Family history of allergy is a risk factor that leads to food allergy in infants. Breastfeeding within six months of the infant's age with a family history of allergy is a protective factor against food allergy. Improving the breastfeeding rate is conducive to early prevention of food allergy.

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food allergy / feeding patterns / risk factors / breastfeeding

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WANG Ping, PENG Caixia, MA Qi, TAN Xia, ZHU Wendan, ZHANG GuiRuo, ZHANG Le, LIU Yan. Study on the relationship among early infants' feeding patterns, exposure factors, and food allergy[J]. Journal of Hunan Normal University(Medical Science). 2025, 22(2): 37-43

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