Early infant diet and risk of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Belgrade children.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated whether an infant diet is associated with the development of type 1 diabetes.

METHODS: A case-control study was conducted in Belgrade from 1994 to 1997. A total of 105 patients with recent onset diabetes (< or = 16 y old) were compared with 210 controls chosen among children with skin disease (first control group). Cases and controls were individually matched by age (+/-1 y), sex, and place of residence. Eighty-six children with diabetes were also compared with their siblings (second control group).

RESULTS: According to univariate logistic regression analysis, when cases were compared with the first control group, the risk of type 1 diabetes was greater for children who were breast fed less than 4 mo (odds ratio = 2.09, 95% confidence interval = 1.30 to 3.36) and who received cow's milk at younger than 5 mo (odds ratio = 3.39, 95% confidence interval = 2.04 to 5.66). According to univariate analysis, when cases were compared with their relatives, only early introduction of supplementary milk was associated with a higher risk for diabetes (odds ratio = 5.75, 95% confidence interval = 2.91 to 11.36). After adjusting for different confounding variables, infant diet was not independently associated with diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained do not support the hypothesis that infant diet is related to the occurrence of type 1 diabetes.