<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

>
>
> Date:    Mon, 9 Jan 2006 17:57:40 -0500
> From:    Diane H Moyer <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Intro of gluten to babies
>
> <<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your 
> situation.>>
>
> There have been a couple of questions today about introducing gluten to
> babies and the study referred to was quoted incorrectly.  What these
> researchers actually found was the lowest risk of developing CD when
> gluten-containing grains were introduced between 4 - 6 months.  I heard
> the lead researcher on this article speak.  It is easy to understand why
> there might be an increased risk of developing CD if gluten is introduced
> before 4 months, considering immature immune system, digestive system,
> etc.   It is puzzling as to why the risk would be greater if these grains
> were not introduced until after 6 months.  Her hypothesis involved a
> dosage effect.  When introducing foods to a 4 - 6 month old, the amount
> they are likely to consume is quite small.  By 7 months or later, babies
> are generally eating bigger quantities, and so they are likely to get a
> bigger load of gluten if it is introduced then, perhaps being behind the
> increased risk of developing CD when gluten introduction is delayed til
> after 6 months.
>
> Below, I have attached a summary article about this study that was
> written for the Denver Metro CSA newsletter.
> Diane
> Denver
>
>
> Infant Feeding & Celiac Disease
> Does it matter when gluten is introduced in a baby's diet?
> This month we report on a study investigating this question done by Dr.
> Hoffenberg (of the University of Colorado, Denver School of Medicine and
> The Children's Hospital) and his colleagues.  This study was an offshoot
> of the DAISY study, investigating the development of diabetes in
> children.  Children enrolled in this study had high risk genes for either
> Type 1 Diabetes and /or Celiac Disease.  1560 children participated over
> the 10 years of this study.  Most were followed from birth, although 253
> were enrolled at ages 2 - 3.
> Every 3 months, up to the child's age of 15 months, the parents were
> interviewed about the child's diet.  In particular, the researchers were
> interested in when new foods were introduced.  For children who were
> enrolled at older ages, parents filled out a questionnaire noting when
> different foods were first introduced.  All children were then followed
> with regular blood work (at 9, 12, and 15 months, and yearly thereafter),
> looking for Tissue Transglutaminase (tTg) antibodies.  A child was
> considered to have Celiac Disease if he/she had a positive tTg test on
> two separate occasions, or one positive test plus positive results upon
> intestinal biopsy.  51 children developed CD over the course of this
> study.  The average age of diagnosis was 4.7 years.  The earliest age at
> which a positive tTg antibody was seen was 2 years old.
> Results showed that children exposed to wheat, barley or rye in the
> first 3 months of life had a five-fold increased risk of developing CD as
> compared to those first exposed between 4 - 6 months.  Children who were
> not exposed to wheat, barley or rye until 7 months or later had a slight
> increased risk of developing CD as compared to those first exposed at 4 -
> 6 months.  They found no association between the timing of introduction
> of rice or oats and the development of CD.
> One question this study did not answer was if all high risk children
> would eventually develop CD.  If this were the case, then perhaps
> introducing wheat, barley or rye at 4 -6 months may simply delay the
> onset of CD, not prevent it.
> Norris, J, et. al., JAMA 293(19), May 18, 2005, 2343 - 2350.  Risk of
> Celiac Disease Autoimmunity and Timing of Gluten Introduction in the Diet
> of Infants at Increased Risk of Disease
>
> ------------------------------
>    There was an article in my Parenting magazine (the Dec/Jan issue) that 
> talked about this. They recommend children with parents who have celiac 
> disease to wait until 1 year of age before introducing gluten.  For those 
> without the history of celiac disease they say then go ahead and introduce 
> it after 6 months of age.  They say to avoid the foods that cause the most 
> food allergies and wheat is one of them.  This was the guidelines set by 
> the American Academy of Pediatrics. It also had a blurb stating that 
> infants fed cereal before 3 months of age had a higher risk of developing 
> celiac disease than those fed cereal between the 4-6 months.
It's nice to celiac getting some recognition!
I have a 10 month old daughter and am avoiding the gluten until 1 year of 
age in the hopes she can escape celiac disease.  I have 3 others that I 
didn't do this with and all 3 have celiac disease.  I know there is no 
guarantee, but I figure it's worth a shot.
Heidi 

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