RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Duration and exclusiveness of breastfeeding and childhood asthma-related symptoms
JF European Respiratory Journal
JO Eur Respir J
FD European Respiratory Society
SP erj01781-2010
DO 10.1183/09031936.00178110
A1 Sonnenschein-van der Voort, A.M.M.
A1 Jaddoe, V.V.W.
A1 van der Valk, R.J.P.
A1 Willemsen, S.P.
A1 Hofman, A.
A1 Moll, H.A.
A1 de Jongste, J.C.
A1 Duijts, L.
YR 2011
UL http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/early/2011/07/12/09031936.00178110.abstract
AB To examine the associations of breastfeeding duration and exclusiveness with the risks of asthma-related symptoms in preschool children, and to explore whether these associations are explained by atopic or infectious mechanisms.This study was embedded in a population-based prospective cohort study among 5,368 children. Information on breastfeeding duration, exclusiveness and asthma-related symptoms, including wheezing, shortness of breath, dry cough and persistent phlegm, was obtained by questionnaires.Compared to children who were breastfed for 6 months, those who were never breastfed had overall increased risks of wheezing, shortness of breath, dry cough and persistent phlegm during the first four years (Odds ratios 1.44 (95% Confidence Interval: 1.24, 1.66), 1.26 (1.07, 1.48), 1.25 (1.08, 1.44) and 1.57 (1.29, 1.91), respectively) Similar associations were observed for exclusive breastfeeding. The strongest associations per symptom per year were observed for wheezing at 1 and 2 years. Additionally adjusted analyses showed that the associations of breastfeeding with asthma-related symptoms were not explained by eczema but partly by lower respiratory tract infections.Shorter duration and non-exclusivity of breastfeeding were associated with increased risks of asthma-related symptoms in preschool children. These associations seemed at least partly explained by infectious but not by atopic mechanisms.