When it comes to moving your baby on to solid food, timing may be everything, according to the findings of new research suggesting that early or late exposure to solids may have a significant effect on the risk of developing type 1 diabetes.
The study, published by JAMA Pediatrics, examined the associations between perinatal and infant exposures to food and the development of T1DM - finding that both early (less than 4 months of age) and late (greater than or equal to 6 months of age) first exposure to any solid food was associated with diabetes development.
"Our data suggest multiple foods/antigens play a role and that there is a complex relationship between the timing and type of infant food exposures and T1DM risk," said the authors, led by Brittni Frederiksen from University of Colorado, USA.
"For children who are introduced to solid food before four months of age, the risk of developing Type 1 diabetes is almost two times higher than for children introduced to solid foods at 4 or 5 months of age," explained Dr Jill Norris - who also worked on the study.
The authors noted that there appears to be a 'safe window' in which to introduce solid foods between 4 and 5 months of age; "solid foods should be introduced while continuing to breastfeed to minimize T1DM risk in genetically susceptible children," they added.