 Program Announcements |
December 1999-Intestinal Blood Loss in Infancy Due to Cow Milk Consumption Found to Disappear Gradually Between 7-1/2 and 12 Months of Age
Previous studies have clearly established the tendency of young infants to respond to cow's milk with increased intestinal blood loss. The response of older infants remain less well defined. Iron deficiency, with or without anemia attributable to the feeding of cow's milk has been demonstrated in a number of studies. Although in some of the studies infants intestinal blood loss was of a magnitude that could have explained the anemia, there were also infants who had iron deficiency but no blood loss. The opposite, blood loss without iron deficiency, may occur. Previous studies also have shown that infants who had been breast fed early in life showed a much greater propensity to respond to cow's milk with blood loss than infants who had not been breast fed. The findings of a HRSA/MCHB-supported study on cow's milk feeding in infancy are reported in an article titled, "Cow's Milk and Intestinal Blood Loss in Late Infancy," which appears in the December 1999 issue of The Journal of Pediatrics (Vol. 135, No.6, pp.720-726). The study sought to document whether older infants may react differently to cow's milk than young infants and to ascertain what is the contributions of intestinal blood loss to the poor iron status associated with feeding of cow's milk. Findings from the study clearly showed that intestinal blood loss provoked by exposure to cow's milk is a phenomenon of the young child as it gradually disappears in the second half o the first year of life. The study also confirmed earlier observations that increased intestinal blood loss in response to cow's milk is more common among infants who were breast fed early in life than in infants who were never breast fed. The duration of breastfeeding did not seem to make a difference. The study was not able to detect an association between intestinal blood loss and iron status. The investigators conclude that based on their findings, intestinal blood loss associated with milk consumption should cease to be a source of concern as the infant approaches the end of the first year of life. Although they fully support the recommendation of the Committee on Nutrition of the American Academy of Pediatrics that cow's milk not be fed during the first year of life, they see little reason for withholding cow's milk beyond the age of 12 months.
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For more information about the MCH Research Program, contact Kishena Wadhwani, c/o Maternal and Child Health Bureau, 5600 Fishers Lane, Parklawn Building Room 18A-55, Rockville, Maryland 20857; phone: (301) 4443-2927; e-mail: kwadhwan@hrsa.gov. |
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