Table 2.
Infants’ baseline characteristics.
| Characteristic | AAF-Syn | AAF |
|---|---|---|
| Sex, n (%) | ||
| Male | 39 (53%) | 40 (54%) |
| Female | 35 (47%) | 34 (46%) |
| IMD quintile, n (%) | ||
| 5th | 27 (36%) | 16 (22%) |
| 4th | 14 (19%) | 18 (24%) |
| 3rd | 12 (16%) | 11 (15%) |
| 2nd | 11 (15%) | 9 (12%) |
| 1st | 10 (14%) | 20 (27%) |
| Mean age at presentation of first symptoms associated with CMPA (months) | 0.56 ± 0.30 | 0.48 ± 0.27 |
| Mean age at CMPA diagnosis/first HAF prescription (months) | 4.71 ± 2.48 | 4.67 ± 2.56 |
| Mean duration on all HAF prescriptions (months) | 10.59 ± 6.82 | 13.69 ± 9.36 |
| Mean duration on the AAF-Syn/AAF (months) | 6.65 ± 5.30 * | 8.44 ± 5.62 * |
| Mean prescription of the AAF-Syn/AAF (g/day) | 148 ± 78 * | 134 ± 89 * |
| Proportion of infants with presenting symptoms before CMPA diagnosis, n (%) | ||
| GI | 31 (42%) | 27 (36%) |
| Skin | 17 (23%) | 18 (24%) |
| Respiratory | 0 (0%) | 2 (2.7%) |
| Proportion of infants with multiple systems affected (GI/respiratory/skin), n (%) | ||
| <2 systems affected | 65 (88%) | 67 (91%) |
| ≥2 systems affected | 9 (12%) | 7 (10%) |
| Proportion of infants with infections before CMPA diagnosis, n (%) | 32 (43%) | 29 (39%) |
| Proportion of infants with other allergy †, n (%) | 9 (12%) | 12 (16%) |
| Proportion of infants with faltering growth before CMPA diagnosis, n (%) | 1 (1.4%) | 2 (2.7%) |
| Proportion of infants with eHF prescription, n (%) | 53 (72%) | 54 (73%) |
| Mean number of allergic medication prescriptions ‡ before CMPA diagnosis | 10.50 ± 7.61 | 10.68 ± 7.51 |
| Mean observation period (years) | 1.19 ± 0.57 | 1.19 ± 0.57 |
AAF-Syn: amino acid formula with synbiotics; AAF: amino acid formula; IMD: index of multiple deprivations; CMPA: cow’s milk protein allergy; HAF: hypoallergenic formula; GI: gastrointestinal; eHF: extensively hydrolysed formula; ± standard deviation; * p < 0.05; † Including read-codes documented in case-records for egg allergy, peanut allergy, food allergy, history of drug allergy, history of non-drug allergy and allergic reaction unspecified; ‡ Prescriptions of anti-reflux, dermatological and antibiotic medications documented in case-records.