Coad Thomas Dow
The first 2018 JAMA issue reported results of the TRIGR study. The Trial to Reduce Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in the Genetically at Risk (TRIGR) study was a 78 center, 15 country study initiated to see if weaning to a hydrolyzed infant formula decreased type 1 diabetes in at-risk children. Rationale prompting the study is that children exclusively breastfed for their initial six months had less chance of developing diabetes than children given cows’ milk-based formula. The concept was that cows’ milk protein is too complex and that early exposure to it will provoke an autoimmune response in at-risk infants. Both study arms used cows’ milk-based formula; one arm had traditionally prepared formula while the other had extensively hydrolyzed formula. The results: “Weaning to a hydrolyzed formula did not reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes in children with an increased disease risk.”