The ingestion of cow's milk formula in the first 3 months of life prevents the development of cow's milk allergy.

BACKGROUND: IgE-mediated cow's milk allergy (CMA) is one of the most common food allergies in infants. It is still controversial whether the early introduction of cow's milk formula (CMF) prevents the development of CMA.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the duration and frequency of CMF ingestion as compere with exclusive breast-fed for preventing CMA in high-risk infants.

METHODS: We enrolled the patients diagnosed with hen's egg allergy by an oral food challenge. A questionnaire was completed by the caregivers of the patients regarding the timing of introduction and discontinuation of CMF, and the frequency of CMF ingestion. Based on the information, we analyzed the relationship between the duration and frequency of CMF ingestion and the development of CMA at 3-24 months of age.

RESULTS: Three hundred seventy-four patients were analyzed; 171 were diagnosed with CMA (45.7%). The analyzed patients (n = 374) were categorized into the following subgroups: exclusively breast-fed (breast-fed group, n = 75); discontinued ingestion of CMF before 3 months of age (temporary group, n = 177); continuous ingestion of CMF, but not daily, up to 3 months of age (nondaily group, n = 47); continuous ingestion of CMF at least once daily (daily group, n = 75). The incidence of developing CMA between the breast-fed group and temporary group did not show any statistical difference. Nondaily group and daily group had significantly lower incidence of developing CMA in comparison to the breast-fed group (nondaily group odds ratio 0.43; p = 0.02, daily group odds ratio 0.11; p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION: Ingestion of CMF during the first 3 months of life might prevent the development of CMA in high-risk infants.