Partially Hydrolyzed Formula Reduced Food Allergy in Infants
The findings came from the Allergy Reduction Trial, or A.R.T., a multicentre, randomized, double-blind study. It compared children who were exclusively breastfed, as an observational group, with children given either standard formula containing intact protein or partially hydrolyzed formula (pHF). The pHF was used either on its own or alongside breastfeeding. Participants had a family history of allergy.
The clearest difference concerned food allergy. By the age of five, children who received pHF had a 47% lower risk than those given standard formula, a result that was statistically significant (p = 0.03). The study authors identified this as the main finding, while noting that it was based on a relatively small number of cases.
The difference was larger when the analysis focused on children aged between one and five. Food allergy occurred in 1.5% of the pHF group, compared with 12.4% among children receiving standard formula. This represented an 87% relative reduction, with p = 0.007.
Atopic dermatitis also occurred less often among children given pHF. Its cumulative incidence by age five was 22.1%, against 38.5% in the standard-formula group, equivalent to a 42% reduction (p = 0.003). The difference was concentrated mainly in the first months of life.
Across all allergic manifestations assessed in the study, the risk was 32.7% in the pHF group and 51.7% in the standard-formula group. The reported relative risk was 0.73, although the authors described this combined result as less robust than the specific finding for food allergy.
Asthma and allergic rhinitis did not differ significantly between the groups by age five. The researchers said this was expected because respiratory conditions associated with the so-called atopic march often appear later in childhood. They said the results did not call for replacing established clinical practices, but indicated that the neonatal period and early nutrition should be considered when assessing allergy risk, particularly in children at high risk.
