Review of nearly 70 years of data found no protective effect
THURSDAY, March 10, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Evidence is lacking that hydrolyzed infant formulas protect children from autoimmune disorders, according to a review published online March 8 in The BMJ.
Robert Boyle, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., of Imperial College London, and colleagues looked at data from 37 studies that together included more than 19,000 participants and were conducted between 1946 and 2015.
The investigators found that infants who received hydrolyzed cow’s milk formula did not have a lower risk of asthma, allergies, or type 1 diabetes compared to those who received human breast milk or a standard cow’s milk formula. The researchers also found no evidence to support a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved claim that a partially hydrolyzed formula could reduce the risk of eczema, or another conclusion that hydrolyzed formula could prevent an allergy to cow’s milk.
“Our findings conflict with current international guidelines, in which hydrolyzed formula is widely recommended for young formula-fed infants with a family history of allergic disease,” the authors write.
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