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Infant feeding and cost of health care: a cohort study
Adriano Cattaneo1, Luca Ronfani, Tea Burmaz
1Unit for Health Services Research and International Health, Istituto per l'Infanzia IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Trieste, Italy. cattaneo@burlo.trieste.it
Insights
Breastfeeding infants experienced fewer illnesses and lower healthcare costs compared to non-breastfed infants. Continued breastfeeding was associated with reduced healthcare utilization and expenses.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Health Economics
Background:
- Infant feeding practices significantly impact child health outcomes.
- Understanding the economic implications of feeding patterns is crucial for healthcare resource allocation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare healthcare utilization and associated costs among infants with diverse feeding patterns.
- To identify factors influencing healthcare costs in early childhood.
Main Methods:
- An observational cohort study followed 842 infants up to 12 months in Northern Italy.
- Feeding data collected via telephone interviews; healthcare service use verified against records.
- Hospital costs calculated using Disease Related Groups (DRG) codes; other service costs from maternal reports and price lists.
Main Results:
- At 3 months, 56% were fully breastfed, 17% complementary fed, and 27% not breastfed.
- Fully breastfed infants had fewer ambulatory care visits (4.90 vs. 6.02) and hospital admissions (0.10 vs. 0.17) per infant/year.
- Healthcare costs were lower for fully breastfed infants (34.69 euro ambulatory, 133.53 euro hospital) compared to non-breastfed (54.59 euro ambulatory, 254.03 euro hospital).
Conclusions:
- Lack of breastfeeding is significantly associated with increased healthcare utilization and costs.
- Factors like birth weight, delayed maternal return to work, and breastfeeding duration influenced healthcare costs.
Aim:
To compare the use and cost of health care in infants with different feeding patterns.
Methods:
Observational study on a cohort of 842 infants born in ten hospitals in northern Italy and followed up to age 12 months. Data on feeding gathered through telephone interviews with 24-hour recall. Data on use of health services reported by mothers and checked against records. Data on hospital cost derived from Disease Related Groups codes. Data on cost of other services obtained from maternal reports and available price lists.
Results:
At three months, 56% of infants were fully breastfed, 17% complementary fed and 27% not breastfed. Infants fully breastfed at three months had 4.90 episodes of illness requiring ambulatory care and 0.10 hospital admissions per infant/year compared with 6.02 and 0.17, respectively, in infants not or not fully breastfed. They had also a lower cost of health care: 34.69 euro versus 54.59 per infant/year for ambulatory care, and 133.53 euro versus 254.03 per infant/year for hospital care. Higher cost of health care was significantly associated with having a hospital admission and being a twin; cost of health care decreased with each additional gram of birth weight, each month of delayed return of the mother to work after the third month, and each extra month of breastfeeding.
Conclusion:
Lack of breastfeeding and higher use and cost of health care are significantly associated.
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