A Prospective Study of Allergy in a Pediatric Population:  The Role of Heredity in the Incidence of Allergies, and Experience With Milk-Free Diet in the Newborn

IN RECENT years, studies have been reported relating to the incidence of allergy, the natural course of allergic disease, and the effectiveness of present methods of treating the atopic child. Several studies^1-4 provided estimates that 10% to 20% of children below the age of 15 years were sufferers of major allergic syndromes. McKee,⁵ on the basis of a questionnaire, found that two-thirds of an adult clinic population of 1,000 persons reported a past or a present history of allergy. Mueller et al,⁶ in attempting to follow the clinical course of 199 consecutive births, found that complete medical control of these infants was not possible in a hospital clinic environment. They reported that one-third of the infants had a positive family history of allergy.

Glaser and Johnstone⁷ concluded that feeding a milk-free diet to the offspring of allergic parents would prevent the future development of allergic symptoms.