Past studies have suggested introducing gluten to a child between the ages of four and six months could decrease the risk of celiac disease, but new research suggests this isn't necessarily true.
The recent findings did not suggest a difference in celiac risk in children who were introduced to gluten before the age of 17 weeks or after 18 weeks, Reuters reported.
In the U.S. and Europe about one in every 100 people have celiac disease, which can lead to intestinal damage and malnutrition if gluten is consumed.
To make their findings the researchers looked at 6,436 children with a genetic predisposition for celiac disease located in Sweden, Finland, Germany and the U.S. After a five year follow up, 773 children had a marker of celiac disease called tTGA (tissue transglutaminase antibody) in their blood, and 307 developed the condition.
After adjusting for other risk factors the researchers determined there was no link between when children first received gluten and their risk of celiac disease.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should be exclusively breastfed until six months of age, and the researchers said these guidelines should still be followed despite the study's findings. Findings such as these are important because celiac disease is on the rise across the globe, and researchers are yet to determine the cause behind it.
"We have to address the reason," Dr. Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University who was not involved in the study told Reuters.
Green also pointed out the general population should not rely too heavily and the study's recent findings because the research only looked at high-risk children.
"They're not studying the general population," Green warned.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Pediatrics.
