Quality of infants' diet does not relate to who has type 1 diabetes in the family

Abstract

We aimed to compare the impact of different family probands on the quality of the ENDIA infants' diet. ENDIA is an early life cohort following children at-risk of type 1 diabetes (T1D) with a mother, father or sibling with T1D. Parents' nutrition knowledge influences children's preferences and intake. We hypothesised that having a T1D sibling would improve the infant's diet quality, compared to having a T1D parent, due to more recent nutrition education. We also measured other influences on infant diet. Infant diet was recorded using three telephone assisted 24 hour recalls on weekend and weekdays with photograph-guided reports of portion sizes. Data were analysed in Foodworks Professional Version 8, Australia. Linear regression models, with generalised estimating equations, compared diet intake between infants. Diet intake of 433 infants, mean age 12.6 months (SD 0.7), did not show a statistically significant difference depending on whether their mother (58%), father (31%) or sibling (11%) had T1D. Mean infant weight z -score was 0.46 (SD 1.09). Mother probands were 32.9 (4.6) years, fathers 35.4 (5.1), siblings 7.6 (3.3). T1D duration [median (IQR)] was 17.8 (11.6-24.8) years for mothers, 17.4 (9.9-25.2) fathers, 3.2 (1.7-4.6) siblings. Energy intake in all groups exceeded daily requirements by 440-743 kilojoules (excess 13-23% of recommended intake) and protein intake of 38.2 (14) g was triple the estimated daily requirement. Increase in maternal age by one year was associated with a decrease in infant daily sodium intake of 7 mg (95% CI 2.11 -12.54, p=0.006). Infants with any sibling had a daily increase of 0.3 teaspoon of added sugar (95% CI 0.02 - 0.062, p=0.03) and 74 mg of sodium (95% CI 24-125, p=0.004). Infant diet quality was not improved by having a sibling with T1D and more recent nutrition education. Infants with any sibling had increased intake of salt and sugar. Most infants consumed excess energy but their weight remained in the healthy range.L6318880632020-06-02 <br />