4% of diabetic children had been exposed to cow’s milk before four months of age, whereas in the control group, this percentage was 64.1%. In the multivariate analysis, a significant association was found between early exposure to cow’s milk and diabetes (OR: 4.09, 95% CI: 1.19 to 14.04).30 Another study, involving 200 T1DM children (2-6 years) in Saudi Arabia, showed an association between T1DM and prolonged consumption of cow’s milk (OR = 4.3), short duration of breastfeeding (OR = 3.5), and excessive consumption of cow’s milk (OR = 2.4).34 It is believed that bovine serum albumin is one of the possible factors responsible for triggering the autoimmune

process involved in the manifestation of T1DM. Antibodies to this protein were found in patients newly diagnosed with the disease. PF-02341066 solubility dmso Important epidemiological evidence also indicates the existence of a strong correlation between the consumption of cow’s

milk and T1DM incidence in several countries.35 Thus, there is little doubt that the consumption of cow’s milk is a trigger for the manifestation of diabetes. Table 1 shows the summaries of studies that investigated the association between T1DM and duration of breastfeeding. After analyzing selleck chemical the results of these studies, it appears that there is a controversy on the role of human milk in the development of T1DM. Although the findings of the study by Leal et al.11 indicated the existence of a positive association between breastfeeding and T1DM, the study lacked a control group. Controls are essential to mitigate the possible effects exerted by confounding variables. Another difficulty to consider breastfeeding causative of T1DM is associated with the date of onset of pancreatic β-cell destruction, which starts at an early age in children

with a genetic predisposition to the disease.36 ifenprodil Thus, this destruction can start many years before the disease diagnosis, and the associations observed in the studies may reflect the effects of other precipitating factors of disease, not necessarily of promoters of the autoimmune process.37 There is reason to believe that the development of chronic diseases of infectious or immunological etiology may be influenced by the type of feeding in the first year of life. Despite the controversies in the study results, the promotion of breastfeeding rather than the use of cow’s milk should be encouraged in the first year of life. The reported evidence on the effects of breastfeeding by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality highlights, among other benefits associated with breast milk, the protection against T1DM and T2DM,38 which has been reinforced by other authors.39 Children who receive breast milk have a lower risk of being overweight during childhood, adolescence,40 and adulthood.41 The World Health Organization conducted a meta-analysis that included 39 studies published in the past 40 years.