ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the prevalence of atopic dermatitis in exclusively breast-fed infants of allergic mothers who were placed either on liberal diets or on dairy-product-restricted diets. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Infants aged 0 to 4 months old, who were exclusively breast-fed and whose mothers had a history of allergic disease, were the subjects of the present study. The mothers were randomized into two groups; mothers in a control group were on liberal diets, while mothers in an intervened group were on dairy product-restricted diets. Infants of both groups were examined for atopic dermatitis at seven days, one month, and four months of age. RESULTS: There were 32 and 30 infants in the control and intervened groups, respectively. Eight infants in the control group and two infants in the intervened group developed atopic dermatitis by the age of four months. The prevalence of atopic dermatitis in the intervened group was significantly lower than that in the control group (6.67% vs. 25%, p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Dairy product restriction in allergic mothers results in decreasing prevalence of atopic dermatitis in 4-month-old infants who were exclusively breast-fed.