Baby’s first solids

Many parents begin feeding their babies solid foods at four to six months to boost their iron supply. New research shows that introducing cereals during this time window could have an additional benefit -- reducing the incidence of celiac disease in infants at genetic risk for the disorder.

For people with celiac disease, eating gluten -- a protein found in wheat, rye and barley -- causes inflammation in the small intestine. The disorder is usually diagnosed in early childhood with symptoms of abdominal pain and diarrhea.

“Gluten triggers celiac disease, but no one knows why,” says researcher Jill Norris, an epidemiologist at the University of Colorado at Denver. “One of the reasons may be timing of exposure.”

Norris followed 1,560 children in Denver with a genetic risk for celiac disease from 1994 to 2004. Fifty-one children developed early signs of the disorder. Those exposed to gluten-containing foods in the first three months were five times more likely to develop the disease than those exposed at four to six months. Children exposed after six months were slightly more likely to develop the disease.

Researchers are unsure why earliest exposure leads to the highest risk. One possibility is that the immature gut and immune system may react inappropriately to the complicated gluten protein, leading to a lifelong immune reaction, Norris says.

The findings were published in the May 18 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Assn.