Associations between infant-feeding patterns and risk of IDDM were investigated in a nationwide Finnish case-control study of 690 IDDM children <15 yr of age. Each child was matched by date of birth and sex to a randomly selected population-based control child. Univariate analysis revealed that the risk of IDDM was increased by ∼1.5 in children for whom breast-feeding was terminated at <2 mo of age, doubled in those who were exclusively breast-fed for <2 mo, and doubled in those who were introduced to dairy products at <2 mo of age. In further multivariate analyses of these factors, it was found that introduction of dairy products at an early age was the most important risk factor, and the observed univariate effects of duration of breast-feeding variables were explained by their correlation with this factor. This is the first observational study to show that early introduction of dairy products is independently associated with an increased risk of IDDM. Adjustment for mother's education and age, child's birth order, or birth weight did not affect the results.
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Original Articles|
December 01 1993
Early Introduction of Dairy Products Associated with Increased Risk of IDDM in Finnish Children
Suvi M Virtanen;
Suvi M Virtanen
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Leena Räsänen;
Leena Räsänen
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Katrina Ylönen;
Katrina Ylönen
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Antti Aro;
Antti Aro
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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David Clayton;
David Clayton
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Bryan Langholz;
Bryan Langholz
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Janne Pitkäniemi;
Janne Pitkäniemi
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Erkki Savilahti;
Erkki Savilahti
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Raisa Lounamaa;
Raisa Lounamaa
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Jaakko Tuomilehto;
Jaakko Tuomilehto
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Hans K Åkerblom
Hans K Åkerblom
Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology and the Children's Hospital, First and Second Departments of Pediatrics, University of Helsinki; the Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology and Health Promotion, National Public Health Institute
Helsinki, Finland
MRC Biostatistics Unit
Cambridge, United Kingdom
School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
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Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. S.M. Virtanen, Division of Nutrition, Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, SF-00014, University of Helsinki, Finland.
Diabetes 1993;42(12):1786–1790
Article history
Received:
December 30 1992
Revision Received:
July 15 1993
Accepted:
July 15 1993
PubMed:
8243824
Citation
Suvi M Virtanen, Leena Räsänen, Katrina Ylönen, Antti Aro, David Clayton, Bryan Langholz, Janne Pitkäniemi, Erkki Savilahti, Raisa Lounamaa, Jaakko Tuomilehto, Hans K Åkerblom; Early Introduction of Dairy Products Associated with Increased Risk of IDDM in Finnish Children. Diabetes 1 December 1993; 42 (12): 1786–1790. https://doi.org/10.2337/diab.42.12.1786
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