1. Effects of Growing-Up Milk Supplemented With Prebiotics and LCPUFAs on Infections in Young Children
- Author
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Patricia Logtens-de Graaff, Nipat Simakachorn, Hania Szajewska, Way S. Lee, Eugenia Carrilho, Bastiaan Schouten, Yalcin Yavuz, Pantipa Chatchatee, and Pensri Kosuwon
- Subjects
Diarrhea ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Pediatrics ,Fever ,Vomiting ,Oligosaccharides ,Fructose ,Infections ,Logistic regression ,n-3 LCPUFAs ,Body Mass Index ,law.invention ,Double-Blind Method ,Randomized controlled trial ,law ,Internal medicine ,Statistical significance ,Fatty Acids, Omega-3 ,medicine ,Animals ,Humans ,Respiratory Tract Infections ,growing-up milk ,young children ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,Respiratory tract infections ,business.industry ,Body Weight ,Gastroenterology ,Galactose ,Infant ,Original Articles: Hepatology and Nutrition ,Body Height ,infection ,Confidence interval ,Milk ,Prebiotics ,chemistry ,Child, Preschool ,Relative risk ,Dietary Supplements ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Female ,business ,Body mass index ,scGOS/lcFOS ,Polyunsaturated fatty acid - Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of growing-up milk (GUM) with added short-chain galacto-oligosaccharides (scGOS)/long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (lcFOS) (9:1) (Immunofortis) and n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) on the occurrence of infections in healthy children attending day care centres. Methods: In a randomised double-blind controlled, parallel, multicountry intervention study, 767 healthy children, ages 11 to 29 months, received GUM with scGOS/lcFOS/LCPUFAs (the active group, n = 388), GUM without scGOS/lcFOS/LCPUFAs (the control group, n = 379), or cow's milk (n = 37) for 52 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the number of episodes of upper respiratory tract infections or gastrointestinal infections based on a combination of subject's illness symptoms reported by the parents during the intervention period. Results: Children in the active group compared with the control group had a decreased risk of developing at least 1 infection (299/388 [77%] vs 313/379 [83%], respectively, relative risk 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.87–1.00; logistic regression P = 0.03). There was a trend toward a reduction (P = 0.07) in the total number of infections in the active group, which was significant when confirmed by one of the investigators (268/388 [69%] vs 293/379 [77%], respectively, relative risk 0.89, 95% CI 0.82–0.97; P = 0.004, post hoc). More infectious episodes were observed in the cow's milk group, when compared with both GUM groups (34/37 [92%] vs 612/767 [80%], respectively, relative risk 1.15, 95% CI 1.04–1.28). Conclusions: This is the first study in children to show a reduced risk of infection following consumption of GUM supplemented with scGOS/lcFOS/n-3 LCPUFAs. The borderline statistical significance justifies a new study to confirm this finding.
- Published
- 2014