Summary of findings 2. Early short‐term feeding: hydrolysed formula versus cow's milk formula ‐ low‐risk infants for prevention of allergic disease and food allergy.
| Early short‐term feeding of hydrolysed formula versus cow's milk formula for prevention of allergic disease | ||||||
| Patient or population: infants not selected for allergic disease risk. Settings: hospitals. Intervention: early short‐term feeding of hydrolysed formula versus cow's milk formula for prevention of allergic disease | ||||||
| Outcomes | Illustrative comparative risks* (95% CI) | Relative effect (95% CI) | Number of participants (studies) | Quality of the evidence (GRADE) | Comments | |
| Assumed risk | Corresponding risk | |||||
| Control | Early short‐term feeding: hydrolysed formula vs cow's milk formula ‐ low‐risk infants | |||||
| All allergic disease ‐ childhood (incidence) Follow‐up: mean 3 years | Study population | RR 1.37 (0.33 to 5.71) | 77 (1 study) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ very lowa,b,c | Quality of evidence downgraded due to risk of bias, imprecision and potential for reporting or publication bias. | |
| 77 per 1000 | 105 per 1000 (25 to 439) | |||||
| Asthma ‐ childhood (incidence) Follow‐up: mean 3 years | Study population | RR 3.08 (0.13 to 73.26) | 77 (1 study) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ very lowa,b,c | Quality of evidence downgraded due to risk of bias, imprecision and potential for reporting or publication bias. | |
| 0 per 1000 | 0 per 1000 (0 to 0) | |||||
| Eczema ‐ childhood (incidence) Follow‐up: mean 3 years | Study population | RR 0.34 (0.04 to 3.15) | 77 (1 study) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ very lowa,b,c | Quality of evidence downgraded due to risk of bias, imprecision and potential for reporting or publication bias. | |
| 77 per 1000 | 26 per 1000 (3 to 242) | |||||
| Food allergy ‐ childhood (incidence) Follow‐up: mean 3 years | Study population | RR 1.37 (0.33 to 5.71) | 77 (1 study) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ very lowa,b,c | Quality of evidence downgraded due to risk of bias, imprecision and potential for reporting or publication bias. | |
| 77 per 1000 | 105 per 1000 (25 to 439) | |||||
| Cow's milk allergy ‐ infancy (incidence) Follow‐up: mean 3 years | Study population | RR 0.62 (0.38 to 1) | 3473 (1 study) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ very lowa,c,d | Quality of evidence downgraded due to risk of bias, imprecision and potential for reporting or publication bias. | |
| 24 per 1000 | 15 per 1000 (9 to 24) | |||||
| Cow's milk allergy ‐ childhood (incidence) Follow‐up: mean 3 years | Study population | RR 5.13 (0.25 to 103.43) | 77 (1 study) | ⊕⊝⊝⊝ very lowa,b,c | Quality of evidence downgraded due to risk of bias, imprecision and potential for reporting or publication bias. | |
| 0 per 1000 | 0 per 1000 (0 to 0) | |||||
| *The basis for the assumed risk (e.g. median control group risk across studies) is provided in footnotes. The corresponding risk (and its 95% confidence interval) is based on the assumed risk in the comparison group and the relative effect of the intervention (and its 95% CI) CI: confidence interval; RR: risk ratio | ||||||
| GRADE Working Group grades of evidence High quality: Further research is very unlikely to change our confidence in the estimate of effect Moderate quality: Further research is likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and may change the estimate Low quality: Further research is very likely to have an important impact on our confidence in the estimate of effect and is likely to change the estimate Very low quality: We are very uncertain about the estimate | ||||||
aMethodological concerns including quasi‐random sequence allocation, incomplete outcome data and imbalances at baseline bImprecision of estimate ‐ single small study cReported only by a single study dImprecision of estimate ‐ low incidence of outcome