A Study on Maternal Diet and Prospective Allergenic Solid Food Introduction among Chinese Infants Surveyed in a Private Hospital in Hong Kong

Eczema is a multifactorial skin disease that affects 20% of children worldwide and has a complex relationship with microbial, nutritional, parental and environmental factors. In this study, we investigated the potential association of eczema with the gut microbiome and environmental factors. One hundred and fifty-two newborn subjects and their mothers were recruited within 10 days postnatally at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong, China and asked to complete questionnaires on allergies, maternal diet and environmental assessment at enrolment. Then, the participants were classified as with or without eczema at four months after birth based on the Comprehensive Early Childhood Allergy Questionnaire (CECAQ) and SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index (n = 48, with 24 in each group). Stool samples were collected from both groups at the same time. Microbial DNA was extracted from each stool sample, and 16S rRNA sequencing was performed to analyze the gut microbiome profiles of the subjects. Our results indicated that the abundance of Bifidobacterium was significantly higher in the eczema group than in the control group (p = 0.04). A multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted, and the results showed that the father’s education level and maternal intake of cereal products and nutritional supplements during pregnancy were associated with the development of eczema (p = 0.008, 0.032 and 0.015, respectively). In conclusion, this study provided preliminary information about the potential risk factors of eczema development in Hong Kong infants in support of a future full study.

Download Full-text

Early infant feeding practice and childhood obesity: the relation of breast-feeding and timing of solid food introduction with childhood obesity

Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism ◽

10.1515/jpem-2014-0138 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Aysel Vehapoglu ◽

Mebrure Yazıcı ◽

Ayşegul Dogan Demir ◽

Serdar Turkmen ◽

Mustafa Nursoy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Childhood Obesity ◽

Infant Feeding ◽

Breast Feeding ◽

Solid Food ◽

Infant Feeding Practice ◽

Feeding Practice ◽

Early Infant ◽

Solid Food Introduction

Download Full-text

The effect of ‘flavour imprinting’ on the acceptability of solid food in weanling rats

Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science ◽

10.1017/s175275620000380x ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 1999 ◽

pp. 225-225

Author(s):

J. E. L. Day ◽

E. A. J. Randall ◽

R. M. Sibly

Keyword(s):

Food Intake ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Maternal Diet ◽

Diet Selection ◽

Solid Food ◽

Wild Animals ◽

Weanling Rats ◽

In The Wild ◽

Normal Trajectory ◽

Commercial Environment

Weaning is associated with a dramatic change in the nutritional status of young animals, and many neonates experience a lag in their normal trajectory of growth post-weaning because they have little experience of ingesting solid food. In the wild, animals are able to learn which foods are ‘safe’ through the mammary transfer of volatile flavours present in the maternal diet. This mechanism could be harnessed in a commercial environment by the use of flavour imprinting, a technique where a characteristic flavour is included both in the maternal and weanling's diet (for pilot data see Campbell, 1976). The use of this method could be associated with considerable increases in the profitability of animal production, however, the whole area is poorly understood. The objective of this experiment was to enhance our understanding of the effect of flavour imprinting on the acceptability of solid food, and hence our ability to predict the diet selection and food intake of newly weaned animals.

Download Full-text