Parental concerns of allergy or hypersensitivity and the infant's diet

Maternal awareness to the timing of allergenic food introduction in Saudi infants: A cross-sectional study

Background

Current guidelines recommend the introduction of allergenic foods as early as 4–6 months of age to decrease the risk of food allergy. However, caregivers’ knowledge about such practices and adherence to them is ambiguous.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the timing of introduction of potentially allergenic foods into children’s diet and the level of maternal awareness about and degree of compliance with current recommendations.

Materials and methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study from May 2019 to January 2020 at Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University Medical Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through questionnaire-based surveys, and a total of 405 mothers were enrolled in the study. The eligibility criteria included mothers of children between the ages of 12 and 36 months.

Results

Most mothers in this study had initiated allergenic foods, and the average time of introduction was 9.84 ± 3.16 months for eggs, 14.6 ± 5.78 months for peanuts, and 13.6 ± 5.37 months for fish. Around one-quarter (n = 102, 25.2%) of the children were identified as being in the high-risk group. Most mothers did not know or disagreed that the timing of introducing allergenic foods might help in preventing food allergy, but there was no difference between the risk groups (33.8% and 26.2%, respectively). Moreover, only 18.6% and 13.2% of the high- and low-risk groups, respectively, received correct information from their health care providers (P = .004). Mothers with only one child were less likely to start eggs at an early age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.5 and P = .005). Furthermore, children at a high risk of food allergy were two times more likely to start eggs at an earlier age (OR = 2.12 and P = .003).

Conclusion

In this study, the allergenic food feeding practices being followed for infants and young children were found to be suboptimal. Parental education level and the number of siblings were identified as potential barriers to the implementation of and adherence to recent guidelines. There is a need for corrective measures to ensure safe and appropriate feeding practices in the Saudi community.

The use of a communication tool about diet at the child health centre: A cluster randomized controlled trial

Aim

To investigate the effect of a communication tool about diet used in public health nurse consultations with parents compared with standard consultations concerning the 2-year-old child's diet.

Design

A cluster randomized controlled trial.

Methods

Ten municipalities were selected randomly and matched in pairs. In each pair, the control or intervention group was randomly allocated. Parents were recruited to participate from January 2015 to January 2017. In intervention clusters, a communication tool about diet was used to help the parents (N = 140) to focus on a healthy diet for their child. In the control clusters, parents (N = 110) attended standard consultations. The participants completed semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires at baseline and end point.

Results

No effect of the intervention was seen on the child's daily intake of vegetables or saturated fat, or body mass index. Significantly fewer parents desired more information about food for toddlers in the intervention than in the control group.