What is atopy?
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 Maternal Diet Linked to Atopic Sensitization of Breastfed
Infants


WESTPORT, CT (Reuters Health) Oct 10 - Breast-fed infants whose
mothers
consume high levels of total
and saturated fat appear to be more likely than other breast-fed
infants
to develop atopic sensitization.

Breast-feeding is considered beneficial for infants in atopic
families,
Dr. U. Hoppu and colleagues from the
University of Turku, Finland, note in the September issue of the
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
They investigated whether a breast-feeding woman's fat consumption
would
change this relationship.

The researchers studied 114 breast-feeding babies with a family
history
of atopic disease. Their mothers
kept a food record for 4 days when the infants were nearly 3 months
old.

Nearly one quarter (23.7%) of infants became sensitized to common
allergens by age 1 year, most
commonly eggs, milk, wheat and cats. The risk of atopy was not
significantly increased by maternal atopic
disease.

However, "maternal intake of saturated fat during breastfeeding was
associated with atopic sensitization of
the infant," with an odds ratio of 1.16, Dr. Hoppu's group reports.

The authors recommend that women in atopic families should be
counseled
to moderate their dietary fat
intake during breast-feeding and preferably during pregnancy, since a
high intake of saturated fat generally
indicates an unbalanced diet.

Eur J Clin Nutrition 2000;54:702-705.


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