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Atopic disease and breast-feeding--cause or consequence?
Adrian J Lowe1, John B Carlin, Catherine M Bennett
1Centre for Molecular, Environmental, Genetic and Analytic Epidemiology, The University of Melbourne, and the Department of Allergy, Royal Children's Hospital, Australia. ajlowe@pgrad.unimelb.edu.au
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
|March 9, 2006
Summary
Infants with early signs of atopic disease, like eczema, may breastfeed exclusively for longer. This finding suggests that breast-feeding might not increase asthma or eczema risk, but rather the disease itself influences feeding duration.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Maternal and Child Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Studies suggest a link between breast-feeding and increased risk of childhood asthma and eczema.
- This association may be explained by mothers prolonging breast-feeding due to early infant atopic disease symptoms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if early atopic disease symptoms or sensitization influence the cessation of breast-feeding.
- To determine if eczema, food reactions, or asthma in infants affect breast-feeding duration.
Main Methods:
- A prospective birth cohort study of 620 infants in Melbourne, Australia.
- Telephone interviews conducted every 4 weeks until 64 weeks, and at 78 and 104 weeks.
- Cox models used to analyze time-varying covariates for atopic symptoms and breast-feeding duration (exclusive and total).
Main Results:
- Only 8.4% of infants did not establish breast-feeding; 25.0% did not establish exclusive breast-feeding.
- Early atopic disease signs or sensitization were linked to a 28% reduced risk of ceasing exclusive breast-feeding (aHR=0.72, P=.029).
- No significant association was found between early atopic disease and the risk of ceasing breast-feeding completely (aHR=1.12, P=.262).
Conclusions:
- Early atopic disease symptoms may lead to prolonged exclusive breast-feeding.
- This prolonged feeding could mask a protective effect of breast-feeding or falsely associate it as a risk factor for atopic diseases.
- Future research should account for this potential confounding factor when examining breast-feeding and atopic disease relationships.
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