MedWire News: There is no evidence to support delaying the introduction of solid foods into infants' diets in order to prevent asthma or allergic rhinitis, German researchers report.

At present, the World Health Organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology recommend that solid foods should be avoided for at least the first 4 and up to the first 6 months of a child's life, despite little scientific evidence to support that view.

Joachim Heinrich (Institute of Epidemiology, Neuherberg) and colleagues analyzed data from 2073 children in the ongoing Influences of Lifestyle-Related Factors on the Immune System and the Development of Allergies in Childhood (LISA) birth cohort study to determine whether delaying introduction of solids (after 4 or 6 months of life) protects against the development of eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and food or inhalant sensitization at the age of 6 years.

Data were collected from parents by questionnaire at birth, and when the children were aged 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, and 6 years. The children underwent blood collection and physical examination at 2 and 6 years.

Heinrich and team found no association between delaying introduction of solids to 4 or 6 months of life and the risk for asthma, allergic rhinitis, or sensitization against food or inhalant allergens at 6 years of age. The relationship between timing of solid food introduction and eczema was not clear.

The authors conclude in the journal Pediatrics: "In this large, population-based, prospective birth cohort study on asthma and allergic diseases, we found no evidence for a protective effect of a delayed introduction of solids (past 4 or 6 months) on asthma, allergic rhinitis, or food or inhalant sensitization against food or inhalant allergens at 6 years of age."

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