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11/07/2013

Diabetes Risk For Babies Weaned After 6 Months

New research has suggested that advice given to new mothers on when to wean their babies could be tripling he risk of Type 1 diabetes.

Scientists from the University in Colorado published their findings in the journal JAMA Paediatrics which said that both early and late first exposure to solid food is linked with an increased likelihood of developing diabetes.

Early weaning, that is at least than four months old, led to doubling the risk of developing the disease, while introducing solid food at six months or later, increased the risk by threefold.

The discovery could have a major affect on current NHS guidelines which advise women that weaning should start when a baby is around six months old.

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According to scientists behind the study, they say there is a 'safe window' between four and five months of age when an infant should begin to eat solid food.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body's defence systems attack cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Around 300,000 people in the UK suffer from the disease, with incident rates increasing.

Scientists in Denver, Colorado, identified almost 2,000 infants with a heightened genetic susceptibility to Type 1 diabetes and then monitored their progress, recording details of their diet. Of those studied, 53 developed the disease.

The authors, led by Brittni Frederiksen, from the University of Colorado, wrote: "Our data suggests that there is a complex relationship between the timing and type of infant food exposures and T1DM (type 1 diabetes mellitus) risk.

"In summary, there appears to be a safe window in which to introduce solid foods between four and five months of age; solid foods should be introduced while continuing to breastfeed to minimise T1DM risk in genetically susceptible children.

"These findings should be replicated in a larger cohort for confirmation."

(JP/MH)

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"New research has suggested that advice given to new mothers on when to wean their babies could be tripling he risk of Type 1 diabetes."