32 RESULTS OF DIETARY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MEASURES FOR THE PREVENTION OF ATOPY IN AT-RISK BABIES: FOLLOW-UP TO 3 YEARS 8 MONTHS OF AGE

Abstract

To evaluate the prophylactic effect of dietary and environmental measures on the development of atopic diseases we have selected and followed from birth to 8 yrs 244 children with family history of atopic diseases. Dietary measures were as follows: Exclusive breast-feeding for the first 6 mos of life, no more than 200 ml of cow's milk (CM)/day and no more than 2 eggs/week to the nurs ing mothers, soy-milk(Isomil Abbott) supplement if breast milk was not sufficient, selected weaning after the 6th mo, CM from birth when mothers did not breastfeed, in the CM-fed infants no attempts to influence the type and time of weaning. Environmental controls were as follows: No smoking in the house, strict controls for the elimination of house dust, molds and mites, no pets in the house, day-care attendance delayed to after 3 yrs. All the infants were seen at our Clinic at the age of 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 mos and twice-a-year afterwards. The median age of the 244 children at the last follow up was 3yrs+8mos(Range 7 mos-8 yrs). 26 (14,5%) of the 179 breast-or soy-fed and 25 (38,5%) of 65 CM-fed infants developed atopic diseases during the follow-up (p< 0,001). In detail, 8 of the 26 breast- or soy-fed infants showed atopic dermatitis (AD), 14 asthma, 1 rhinitis, 2 asthma associated with AD, and 1 urticaria. 2 of the 25 CM-fed infants showed AD, 13 asthma, 2 rhinitis, and 8 asthma associated with AD. These data suggest that dietary and environmental measures exert a prophylactic effect on the development of atopic diseases in at-risk infants.