Maternal consumption of dairy products during pregnancy and lactation, and the development of cow's milk antibodies in the offspring.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the maternal consumption of milk and milk products affects development of cow's milk (CM) antibodies in infants. DESIGN: A randomized pilot trial using food frequency questionnaires (mothers) and food records (infants). SETTING: Families with a newborn infant with increased HLA-DQB1-conferred risk of type 1 diabetes and at least one first-degree relative affected by type 1 diabetes from 16 hospitals in Finland between April 1995 and November 1997. SUBJECTS AND INTERVENTION: Infants randomized to receive a hydrolysed formula when breast milk was not available during their first 6-8 mo (n=112). Of these, 13 dropped out by the age of 3 mo and two were excluded due to incomplete CM antibody data. RESULTS: Maternal milk protein intake from cheese during pregnancy was inversely related to IgA-class antibody titres to beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) and casein (CAS) at 3 mo, and to IgA antibody titres to BLG at 6 mo. Maternal consumption of raw milk products during lactation was positively related to the development of IgA antibody titres to CAS at 6 mo, and inversely correlated to IgG antibody titres to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and IgA antibody titres to CAS at 2 y. Maternal cheese consumption was inversely related to the IgG antibody titres to CM formula and CAS and to the IgA antibody titres to CAS in early infancy. CONCLUSIONS: Few associations were established between maternal CM protein intake and CM protein antibody levels in the infants. The milk and milk products taken by the mother differed in their impact on the emerging CM antibody response in the offspring