Egg and Dairy Consumption were not Associated with Allergic Reactions or Allergy‐Like Symptoms in 6 to 9 Month‐Old Infants from Rural Cotopaxi, Ecuador
Authors: Palacios Ana M , Gallegos Carlos A , Waters William F , Malo Carla , Lutter Chessa , Stewart Christine P , Reinhart Gregory A , Iannotti Lora Andres 
Published: November 2023

Many country complementary feeding guidelines do not promote introduction to animal source foods such as eggs and dairy until a child is at least 12 months. To our knowledge, there is no evidence that supports that restricting diets after 4 to 6 months of age will prevent allergies (Halken, 2001) and allergic sensitization to food and inhalant allergens are associated with late introduction of some solid foods (Paton, 2012, Nwaru 2010). The objective of this study is to assess whether reported egg or dairy consumption at 6 to 9 months of age was associated with allergy‐like symptoms and/or allergic reactions in the rural province of Cotopaxi, Ecuador.

Primary caretakers of recruited participants were asked whether infants had any known food allergies prior to enrollment. Data were collected in a survey as part of a randomized controlled trial that evaluated the efficacy of daily egg consumption on the nutrient status of 169 infants 6 to 9 months of age. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to ascertain whether any of the following symptoms: skin rash, fever, nasal discharge, cough, and difficulty breathing/wheezing/panting, could be predicted by consumption of egg, cow's milk and other dairy products after controlling for sex, parental unemployment and undernutrition (SD<‐2 for either LAZ, WAZ or WHZ). We examined all available socio‐economic, demographic, environmental and nutrition factors in the models.

A total 169 infants were recruited; 66 reported to have consumed eggs, 80 yogurt, 27 milk, and 53 other dairy products in the previous 24 hours. There were no reported allergies to milk, eggs or food products during screening or enrollment to the study, and no observed allergic reactions to eggs or dairy were identified during the trial. No significant associations were found between milk, dairy or egg consumption reported in the previous 24 hours with the following symptoms: rash, cough, and fever also reported in the previous 24 hours. After controlling for sex, parental unemployment and undernutrition, we observed that children who reported egg consumption were less likely to report difficulty breathing/wheezing/panting in the previous 24 hours, OR: 0.27 (0.09–0.86), p=0.035. Similarly, and after controlling for sex, undernutrition and parental unemployment, those children who reported yogurt consumption were less likely to report nasal discharge, OR:0.36 (0.18–0.74), p=0.034.

We found no evidence to suggest allergic reactions to eggs, milk or dairy products in these infants. Furthermore, reported consumption of eggs and yogurt were associated with a lower prevalence of respiratory tract symptoms suggesting a protective effect in children from these ages in this cross‐sectional analysis. Further research is warranted to investigate whether introduction to eggs and dairy products at or after 6 months of age could influence respiratory tract symptoms in infants.

Support or Funding Information

Research sponsored by The Mathile Institute for the Advancement of Human Nutrition.