Evaluating the influence of parental atopy on the effectiveness of a maternal dairy-free diet in alleviating infantile colic: a before-and-after study.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine the impact of a maternal dairy-free diet on alleviating colic symptoms in infants and whether parental atopy history influenced colic severity or treatment efficacy.
Results Summary
A maternal dairy-free diet significantly reduced colic symptoms in infants, regardless of parental atopy history. The severity of colic was unrelated to parental atopy, suggesting improvement may be due to milk intolerance rather than allergy.
Population
Breastfed infants with infantile colic (average age 28.77 ± 9.99 days) in Arak, Iran.
Effective Dosage
Dairy products were removed from the mother's diet (specific amounts not detailed).
Duration
One month.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mother's hypoallergenic Dairy-Free Diet | decrease | pain symptoms | infants with colic | - | demonstrated a significant reduction | #1 |
maternal dairy-free diet | no change | pain symptoms | infants with and without parental atopy history | - | no significant difference in efficacy | #2 |
maternal dairy-free diet | decrease | colic severity | cases of severe and moderate colic compared to mild cases | more pronounced effects | varied | #3 |
Dairy-Free Diet | decrease | colic symptoms | infants with colic | - | significantly reduced | #4 |
- | no change | colic pain severity | infants with colic | - | did not exhibit a significant association | #5 |
BACKGROUND: Infantile Colic (IC) poses a significant challenge for parents as it manifests through repeated and extended episodes of fussiness, crying, or irritability occurring before the age of 5 months. The precise cause of IC is currently unknown. The association between IC, a family history of atopy, and the development of individual atopy in the future remains uncertain, given conflicting findings from prior studies. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the impact of parental atopy on IC severity and the effectiveness of the mother's hypoallergenic Dairy-Free Diet in alleviating pain in infants with colic. METHODS: This non-randomized trial conducted at Amirkabir Hospital in Arak, Iran, from January 2023 to October 2023, involving 206 eligible IC patients non-randomly assigned to two groups based on parental atopy history. Breastfed infants were prescribed a dairy-free diet, involving the removal of dairy products from the mother's diet. Pain severity was assessed using the FLACC scale at baseline and after one-month of intervention. RESULTS: The research initially involved 206 subjects with an average age of 28.77 ± 9.99 days, evenly distributed based on parental atopy history. However, there was a 28.6% loss to follow-up, resulting in a final analyzed population of 147 individuals. The intervention, a maternal dairy-free diet, demonstrated a significant reduction in pain symptoms within both groups and overall (P = 0.001), with no significant difference in efficacy between infants with and without parental atopy history (P = 0.219). Parental history of atopy did not exhibit a significant association with colic pain severity (P = 0.404). The study revealed that the impact of the diet on colic severity varied, with more pronounced effects observed in cases of severe and moderate colic compared to mild cases. CONCLUSIONS: Adopting a Dairy-Free Diet significantly reduced colic symptoms, irrespective of parental atopy history. The severity of colic appears unrelated to parental atopy, and the observed improvement with a Dairy-Free diet is potentially attributed to milk intolerance rather than milk allergy.