Only 1 percent of children suffer from this allergy

The researchers suggest that only 1 per cent actually suffer from a cow's milk allergy, but up to 14 per cent of families believe their child has the condition.

The authors of the study point to official guidelines for detecting cow's milk allergy as a possible reason for the incorrect and misdiagnosis. For the experiment, they analysed nine official guidelines on cow's milk allergy published between 2012 and 2019.

Symptoms also occur in healthy children

The guidelines analysed were from medical organisations in many countries, mainly in Europe. The team discovered that symptoms intended to suggest signs of cow's milk allergy, such as excessive crying, returning milk or loose stools, are also very common in healthy children.

A statistical study involving more than 12,000 infants in nine countries found that less than 1 per cent of infants had an allergy to cow's milk. At the same time, the study also discovered that up to 14 per cent of families mistakenly believe that their child has it.

The analysis suggests that between 2000 and 2018, in countries such as Australia and England, the prescribing of specialised formula for infants with cow's milk allergy increased significantly despite the lack of evidence of an increase in the incidence among children.

- Many infants diagnosed with a milk allergy do not have the condition. A suspected allergy in a child is also a source of stress for the whole family. A misdiagnosis may result in a missed analysis for other conditions with similar symptoms. Further consequences of misdiagnosis include unnecessary adherence to diets or complete cessation of breastfeeding by breastfeeding mothers, as well as unnecessary expenditure on specialised supplements and medicines putting a strain on families' budgets as well as the health service, says Dr Robert Boyle, allergy specialist and lead author of the study.

Different types of milk allergy

Milk allergy is most common in children under two years of age and is divided into 2 types - IgE-dependent and IgE-independent.

In the IgE-dependent case, the allergic reaction includes the following symptoms: vomiting, hives and, in very rare cases, a severe reaction that causes difficulty breathing, called anaphylaxis.

photo: panthermedia

Symptoms for the IgE-independent type may include vomiting, diarrhoea or excessive crying. The team stresses that the nature of these symptoms means thatthey are often mistaken for normal complaints seen in young children.

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Dr Daniel Munblit, Professor of Paediatrics, explained:

- ' In the 9 guidelines we studied, 7 of them suggested the inclusion of milder symptoms as signs of non-IgE cow's milk allergy, such as returning milk, crying and rash - where many of these symptoms commonly occur in infants but resolve over time. Cow's milk allergy affects less than 1 per cent of infants, while vomiting, crying or eczema affects 15-20 per cent of infants.

Allergy-causing quantities have been analysed

The researchers analysed data on the amount of a type of cow's milk protein known to cause allergic reactions. It was shown that the amount of this protein in breast milk was only micrograms (millionths of a gram) per litre. Such an amount is too low to cause a reaction through breastfeeding.

The team also noted that the 3 guidelines were directly supported by formula manufacturers or marketing consultants of pharmaceutical companies. In addition, 81% of all guideline authors reported a conflict of interest, which in this case means receiving funding from a company that could profit from the advice in the guideline.

- Formula manufacturers could benefit from promoting increased diagnosis of cow's milk allergy - influencing practitioners and parents to use a special formula instead of a cheaper mix, and undermining women's confidence in breastfeeding so that breast milk is replaced by a special formula, says Dr Boyle. - ' Not only do we need to critically evaluate our current guidelines and separate the development of guidelines from those who can profit from them, but we also need to ensure that every family receives the best possible care, avoiding over-diagnosis of cow's milk allergy ,' he adds.