Consumption of organic foods and risk of atopic disease during the first 2 years of life in the Netherlands

• Published in: British journal of nutrition 2008-03, Vol.99 (3), p.598-605
• Main Authors: Kummeling, Ischa, Thijs, Carel, Huber, Machteld, van de Vijver, Lucy P. L., Snijders, Bianca E. P., Penders, John, Stelma, Foekje, van Ree, Ronald, van den Brandt, Piet A., Dagnelie, Pieter C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural production; allergens; atopy; Biological and medical sciences; Birth cohort; blood chemistry; Dairy Products; Diet; Eczema; Eczema - epidemiology; Eczema - prevention & control; eggs; Epidemiologic Methods; Fatty acids; Feeding Behavior; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; food intake; Food products; Food, Organic - utilization; fruits (food); Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetically altered foods; Humans; hypersensitivity; Hypersensitivity, Immediate - epidemiology; Hypersensitivity, Immediate - prevention & control; immunoglobulin E; Immunoglobulin E - blood; infant feeding; Infant Food; infant nutrition; Infant, Newborn; Infants; Male; meat products; Mothers; Natural & organic foods; Netherlands - epidemiology; Nutrition; Organic diet; organic foods; Pregnancy; regression analysis; Respiratory Hypersensitivity - epidemiology; Respiratory Hypersensitivity - prevention & control; Respiratory Sounds; respiratory tract diseases; Skin diseases; vegetables; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; wheeze; Womens health
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114507815844

We prospectively investigated whether organic food consumption by infants was associated with developing atopic manifestations in the first 2 years of life. The KOALA Birth Cohort Study in the Netherlands (n 2764) measured organic food consumption, eczema and wheeze in infants until age 2 years using repeated questionnaires. Diet was defined as conventional ( 90 % organic). Venous blood samples taken from 815 infants at 2 years of age were analysed for total and specific IgE. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to control for potential confounding factors. Eczema was present in 32 % of infants, recurrent wheeze in 11 % and prolonged wheezing in 5 %. At 2 years of age, 27 % of children were sensitised against at least one allergen. Of all the children, 10 % had consumed a moderately organic diet and 6 % a strictly organic diet. Consumption of organic dairy products was associated with lower eczema risk (OR 0·64 (95 % CI 0·44, 0·93)), but there was no association of organic meat, fruit, vegetables or eggs, or the proportion of organic products within the total diet with the development of eczema, wheeze or atopic sensitisation. Further studies to substantiate these results are warranted.