Diagnosis of babies with milk allergies is up by 500pc

Investigation questions doctors’ links with formula companies as NHS bill rises from £8m to £60m

THE rate of babies being diagnosed with milk allergies has risen by 500 per cent in a decade due to increased links between the food formula industry and doctors, an investigation has suggested.

Experts warn that the health of infants and mothers is being put at risk and that rates of breast-feeding have been hit due to over-broad diagnostic criteria drawn up with the help of vested interests.

Published in the British Medical Journal, the investigation found that prescriptions for specialist formula milks used to treat cows’ milk protein allergy (CMPA) rose from 105,029 in 2006 to more than 600,000 in 2016, with the NHS bill increasing from £8.1 million to more than £60 million annually. However, this has not been mirrored by an increase shown in robust population studies.

The investigation found evidence that senior paediatric dietitians responsible for drawing up CMPA guidelines have accepted hospitality and research funding from manufacturers and then failed to recuse themselves from key decisions.

It directs particular criticism at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) for accepting industry sponsorship. The RCPCH said it accepted sponsorship relating only to specialist formulas, rather than breast milk substitutes.

Dr Robert Boyle, a consultant paediatric allergist at Imperial College London, said: “There are many more milk allergy [studies] published than for other food allergies. Many have a direct or indirect support from the industry, which has a lot to gain from increased specialised formula use.”

The UK has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world, and the new report argues that over-diagnosing of CMPA is unnecessarily forcing even more mothers to give up because of the pressure that avoiding a dairy diet puts them under. It points to frontline commissioners such as Gary Marlowe, City and Hackney Clinical Commissioning Group vice chairman, who said that based on the current criteria “virtually every single infant” could potentially be diagnosed with CMPA.

Prof Russell Viner, RCPCH president, said: “The RCPCH consulted with members about the college’s relationship with formula milk companies (FMCS) in 2016. The vast majority of respondents said they felt the RCPCH should accept funding from FMCS and allow them to advertise at conferences and events – but only with a robust set of safeguards in place.

“Over the last year, we’ve been working with the major FMCS, and so far Danone and Nestlé have met the due diligence criteria. The procedures and policies of both companies will continue to be reviewed by the RCPCH, as will our work with them to further improve the marketing of their infant formula milk products.”