Baby Supplements, Asthma, Allergy Linked
African-American Infants Could Be More Vulnerable to Asthma, Food Allergy Risk
May 5, 2003 -- Giving vitamin supplements to infants just might increase their risk of developing asthma or food allergies, according to a study reported at a major pediatric conference. The findings could help explain an epidemic of allergies and asthma among children in the United States, but more research is needed to confirm the association.
The study, presented at the 2003 Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Seattle, followed more than 8,000 infants from birth to age three. The link between vitamin supplements and allergies and asthma was strongest for formula-fed African-American children, who were almost twice as likely to develop food allergies and one-and-a-half times as likely to develop asthma if they were given vitamins during their first six months.
The study comes just a month after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended vitamin Dsupplements for infants. The group noted that vitamin D deficiency is a particular problem for breastfed infants, because breast milk contains little of the vitamin. Vitamin D is needed for the absorption of calcium to develop strong bones.
"We certainly are not saying that the AAP recommendation should not be followed," says Josh Milner, MD, researcher of the new study. "This research is very preliminary, and we absolutely need more studies to find out if this association holds up. A lot more questions have to be answered before we can even begin to consider clinical recommendations."
Within the last few decades, asthma rates in children have more than doubled in the United States. It is estimated that almost 5 million children under the age of 18 suffer from asthma and 8% of children under the age of six have food allergies.
Milner and colleagues at Washington's Children's National Medical Center studied children born in 1988 for their first three years. Risk factors known to be associated with the development of asthma and food allergies were recorded, as was race and whether the infants were breast- or bottle-fed.
Among the 8,285 children, 11% developed asthma and 5% developed food allergies by the age of 3. Factors identified as increasing the risk for asthma included being male, having a smoker in the house, attending daycare, premature birth, being African-American, bottle-feeding, and low income. The risk of food allergies was higher in children who attended daycare and were breastfed.