EARLY INTRODUCTION OF DAIRY-PRODUCTS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED RISK OF IDDM IN FINNISH CHILDREN

Associations between infant-feeding patterns and risk of IDDM were inv estigated in a nationwide Finnish case-control study of 690 IDDM child ren <15 yr of age. Each child was matched by date of birth and sex to a randomly selected population-based control child. Univariate analysi s 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, doub led 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 furth er multivariate analyses of these factors, it was found that introduct ion of dairy products at an early age was the most important risk fact or, and the observed univariate effects of duration of breast-feeding variables were explained by their correlation with this factor. This i s the first observational study to show that early introduction of dai ry products is independently associated with an increased risk of IDDM . Adjustment for mother's education and age, child's birth order, or b irth weight did not affect the results.