(P02-009-25) Receipt of a Lactose-Reduced Infant Formula With Corn Syrup Solids During Infancy Is Associated With Lower Dairy Intake Through Age 6 Years

Objectives: Receipt of lactose-reduced infant formula made with corn syrup solids (CSSFs), a glucose-based infant formula, is highly prevalent in the United States (US). CSSFs are associated with higher risk of child obesity. This study was conducted to assess relationships between CSSF intake during infancy with child diet at ages 1-6 years.

Methods: Data on infants enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Infants and Toddler Feeding Practices Study (ITFPS)-2, born in 2013-2014 and followed through 2020, were used (n=1,933). Twenty-four hour dietary recalls (24HRs), collected with the USDA’s Automated Multiple Pass Method, were used to assess child diet using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2020 Toddler at ages 13, 15, and 18 months (age 1 year), and the HEI-2020 at ages 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 years. Any CSSF intake was determined from 24HRs at ages 1/3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 months (dichotomous: any, none). Differences in subsequent diet (HEI total score and food group specific scores) between CSSF recipients and non-recipients were assessed using multivariable mixed effects regression models.

Results: In this sample, 26.5% of infants consumed any CSSF during infancy. CSSF intake during infancy was not associated with HEI-2020 total scores, nor with many food group scores for adequacy (total vegetable, greens and beans, total fruit, whole grains, seafood or plant protein, fatty acid ratio) or moderation (sodium, refined grains, saturated fat, or added sugars), at any age. Significantly lower HEI-2020 Toddler and HEI-2020 scores for dairy intake were found for CSSF recipients compared to non-recipients at ages 1 year (difference [95% confidence interval]: -0.25 points [-0.49, -0.01]), 3 years (-0.47 [-0.78, -0.16]), 5 years (-0.43 points [-0.75, -0.11]), and 6 years (-0.55 points [-0.93, -0.18]).

Conclusions: Overall diet quality at ages 1-6 years was not different between children who did and did not consume a CSSF during infancy. Significantly lower total dairy intake (HEI-2020 dairy score) was found among recipients of any CSSF at ages 1, 3, 5, and 6 years, which may suggest that caregiver-perceived lactose-sensitivity contributes to the increasing popularity of these glucose-based infant formulas.

Funding Sources: This study was funded by the American Heart Association.