Baseline characteristics of children with short (<6 months) and prolonged (≥6 months) breastfeeding duration
| Total | Breastfeeding <6 months | Breastfeeding ≥6 months | Unadjusted OR (95% CI) | Adjusted OR# (95% CI) | |
| Subjects n | 480 | 381 | |||
| Age yrs | |||||
| 6–8 | 281 | 160 (56.9) | 121 (43.1) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| 9–14 | 580 | 320 (55.2) | 260 (44.8) | 1.07 (0.80–1.40) | 1.03 (0.75–1.40) |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 438 | 249 (56.8) | 189 (43.2) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Female | 423 | 231 (54.6) | 192 (45.4) | 1.09 (0.83–1.43) | 1.05 (0.79–1.40) |
| Socio-economic parameters | |||||
| Maternal education yrs spent at school | |||||
| <7 | 443 | 235 (53.0) | 208 (47.0) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ≥7 | 404 | 235 (58.2) | 169 (41.8) | 0.81 (0.62–1.06) | 0.93 (0.69–1.24) |
| Household income¶ | |||||
| <800 | 651 | 341 (52.4) | 310 (47.6) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ≥800 | 210 | 139 (66.2) | 71 (33.8) | 0.56 (0.40–0.77) | 0.57 (0.40–0.81) |
| Number of siblings | |||||
| <3 | 600 | 363 (60.5) | 237 (39.5) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| ≥3 | 234 | 100 (42.7) | 134 (57.3) | 2.05 (1.51–2.79) | 1.82 (1.31–2.54) |
| Positive parental allergic history | |||||
| Mother | |||||
| No | 699 | 396 (56.7) | 303 (43.3) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Yes | 162 | 84 (51.9) | 78 (48.1) | 1.22 (0.86–1.71) | 1.37 (0.94–1.99) |
| Father | |||||
| No | 752 | 419 (55.7) | 333 (44.3) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Yes | 109 | 61 (56.0) | 48 (44.0) | 0.99 (0.66–1.48) | 0.99 (0.63–1.54) |
| Maternal smoking during the pregnancy | |||||
| No | 463 | 255 (55.1) | 208 (44.9) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Yes | 394 | 222 (56.3) | 172 (43.7) | 0.95 (0.73–1.25) | 0.87 (0.64–1.17) |
| Positive TST | |||||
| Negative <10 mm | 502 | 288 (57.4) | 214 (42.6) | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Positive ≥10 mm | 316 | 170 (37.0) | 146 (40.6) | 1.16 (0.87–1.54) | 1.09 (0.80–1.47) |
Data are presented as n (%), unless otherwise stated. OR: odds ratio; CI: confidence interval; TST: tuberculin skin test. #: breastfeeding duration was used as a dependent variable and the other variables were used as independent variables in the random-effects logistic regression model, which corrected for possible bias due to clustering in the sample unit; ¶: an average household income of <800 South African Rand (SAR) was used to differentiate low-income households (800 SAR is the official minimum monthly wage; 1 US$ = 6.5 SAR).