Children with cow's milk allergy following an elimination diet had normal growth but relatively low plasma leptin at age two

• Published in: Acta Paediatrica Vol. 107; no. 7; pp. 1247 - 1252
• Main Authors: Dong, Ping, Feng, Jing‐jing, Yan, Dong‐yong, Lyu, Yu‐jing, Xu, Xiu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Norway Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.07.2018
• Subjects: Age; Allergies; Body composition; Children; Cow's milk; Cow's milk allergy; Diet; Dietary intake; Elimination diet; Food allergies; Growth; Infant; Infants; Leptin; Nutritional status; Vitamin A; Infant; Cow's milk allergy; Growth; Elimination diet; Nutritional status
• ISSN: 0803-5253; 1651-2227; 1651-2227
• DOI: 10.1111/apa.14283

Aim To assess nutrient intake, growth and nutritional status of infants with cow's milk allergy (CMA) who follow a therapeutic elimination diet since the first few months of life. Methods Sixty infants younger than four months of age with challenge‐proven CMA and 60 healthy age‐matched children were investigated. Anthropometric and body composition (BC) were assessed up to 24 months. Dietary intake was recorded by the parents for three consecutive days before visits at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. Blood albumin, prealbumin, retinol binding protein and metabolic‐related hormones were examined at 24 months. Results The average age at enrolment was 2.9 ± 1.0 months. At the end of the follow‐up, there were no differences in daily milk consumption, nutrient intake, weight and height z scores or BC measures between the groups; however, the plasma leptin level was lower in infants with CMA (1.67 ± 1.03 vs 2.05 ± 1.48) (ng/mL) (p < 0.05) compared to healthy children. Conclusions Children with CMA who followed an elimination diet could achieve a normal nutritional status, except for relatively lower plasma leptin levels, at the age of 2. Further studies with larger cohorts and research on the long‐term consequences of these early differences are needed.