Diabetes, Vol 42, Issue 12 1786-1790, Copyright © 1993 by American Diabetes Association
Early introduction of dairy products associated with increased risk of IDDM in Finnish children. The Childhood in Diabetes in Finland Study Group
SM Virtanen, L Rasanen, K Ylonen, A Aro, D Clayton, B Langholz, J Pitkaniemi, E Savilahti, R Lounamaa, J Tuomilehto and al. et
Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Associations between infant-feeding patterns and risk of IDDM were
investigated in a nationwide Finnish case-control study of 690 IDDM
children < 15 yr of age. Each child was matched by date of birth and sex
to a randomly selected population-based control child. Univariate analysis
revealed that the risk of IDDM was increased by approximately 1.5 in
children for whom breast-feeding was terminated at < 2 mo of age,
doubled in those who were exclusively breast-fed for < 2 mo, and doubled
in those who were introduced to dairy products at < 2 mo of age. In
further multivariate analyses of these factors, it was found that
introduction of dairy products at an early age was the most important risk
factor, and the observed univariate effects of duration of breast-feeding
variables were explained by their correlation with this factor. This is the
first observational study to show that early introduction of dairy products
is independently associated with an increased risk of IDDM. Adjustment for
mother's education and age, child's birth order, or birth weight did not
affect the results.