New research published in Clinical and Experimental Allergy reveals that prescriptions for specialty infant formulas have increased in recent years in England, Norway and Australia, with rates more than 10 times what would be expected for the number of children with allergies. milk allergies.
Prescribed amounts of specialist infant formula increased 2.8 times in England between 2007 and 2018, with similar trends to other regions of the UK. Quantities increased 2.2 times in Norway between 2009 and 2020 and 3.2 times in Australia between 2001 and 2012.
The findings are worrisome because the specialty formula contains higher levels of sugar, which can promote tooth decay and obesity in young children.
“These data suggest high levels of overdiagnosis of milk allergy and mark a significant change in early infant nutrition,” the authors wrote.
Source:
Magazine reference:
Mehta, S., et al. (2022) Trends in the use of the specialized formula for the management of cow’s milk allergy in young children. Clinical and experimental allergy. doi.org/10.1111/cea.14180.