Can Early Dietary Gluten Prevent Celiac Disease?

Investigators from multiple institutions conducted a randomized control trial on early introduction of wheat into the diet of infants and subsequent development of celiac disease (CD). Study participants were children from the general population of England and Wales who were enrolled in the Enquiring About Tolerance (EAT) study. For this study, exclusively breastfed infants were randomized to early introduction of 6 allergenic foods into their diets at 4 months of age (early introduction group [EIG]) or breast-fed without introduction of food until they were 6 months old (standard introduction group [SIG]). The current analysis focused on the introduction of wheat into the diet. Parents in the EIG were asked to begin giving 2 wheat-based cereal biscuits per week to their infants, beginning at 16 weeks, …