Goat Milk‐Based Infant Formula and the Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Infants: A Real‐World‐Evidence Study From Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and the Netherlands
Karen Knipping, Juliane Böhme, Dominique Goossens, Linde van Lee, Lucie van der ZeeABSTRACT
Background and Aims
Infants often experience gastro‐intestinal (GI) symptoms whereby their nutrition might play a role in the occurrence of these symptoms. Evidence suggests that consuming goat milk‐based infant formula (GMF) may provide relief. Therefore, a study was performed to assess the prevalence of GI symptoms in infants and the role of GMF.
Methods
From June 2021 until November 2022, a cross‐sectional observational survey was conducted in Brazil, Mexico, Russia, and The Netherlands by recruiting parents/legal guardians through social media. GI symptoms after introduction of GMF were questioned using the validated Cow's Milk‐Related Symptom Score (CoMiSS; scoring 0–33), lower scores indicate fewer symptoms. Occurrence of crying, gassiness, eczema, respiratory symptoms and stool consistency were asked retrospectively before and ≥ 14 days after introduction of GMF.
Results
The study population (n = 425) of GMF‐consumers mostly consisted of 0‐6 months‐old infants with a median age of 5 months. Overall, CoMiSS was low among GMF‐consumers (median 1.00, IQR 4.00, range 0–14) of which 89% had CoMiSS ≤ 6 (n = 317), indicating (severity of) symptoms commonly present in healthy infants. After introduction of GMF, the majority of infants had lower symptom scores of gassiness (87%, n = 128), skin symptoms (78%, n = 32), watery stools/diarrhea (80%, n = 32) or hard stools/constipation (84%, n = 57), and crying (87%, n = 122). The CoMiSS in GMF‐consumers was significantly lower, meaning fewer symptoms, compared to GMF‐non‐consumers (p = < 0.001). CoMiSS was similar among categories of age, sex, and country of residence.
Conclusion
This sample of infants fed GMF showed a low prevalence of GI symptoms and parents reported lower prevalence of GI symptoms after introduction of GMF based on retrospectively questionnaires. CoMiSS in GMF‐consumers was significantly lower when compared to GMF‐non‐consumers. These results give indications of a potential benefit of GMF in managing GI symptoms in infants. Clinicaltrial. gov identifier NCT06755424.