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Published on: August 7, 2017

Effect of breastfeeding duration on lung function at age 10 years: a prospective birth cohort study

I U Ogbuanu1, W Karmaus, S H Arshad

  • 1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Norman J Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA. dr_iyke@yahoo.com

Thorax
|November 13, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Breastfeeding for at least 4 months significantly improves children's lung volume, specifically increasing forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow. This suggests a positive impact of prolonged breastfeeding on respiratory health.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric pulmonology
  • Maternal and child health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Established protective effects of breastfeeding against early respiratory infections.
  • Conflicting evidence regarding breastfeeding's long-term protection against childhood asthma.
  • Need to assess breastfeeding duration's impact on lung function in later childhood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between breastfeeding duration and lung function at age 10.
  • To determine if prolonged breastfeeding offers benefits for respiratory health in children.
  • To analyze the relationship between breastfeeding and specific lung function parameters.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective assessment of breastfeeding practices in the Isle of Wight birth cohort (n=1456).
  • Categorization of breastfeeding duration: none, <2 months, 2 to <4 months, >=4 months.
  • Measurement of lung function (FVC, FEV(1), PEF) at age 10 (n=1033) with statistical adjustments.

Main Results:

  • Breastfeeding >=4 months was associated with increased forced vital capacity (FVC) by 54.0 ml (p=0.001).
  • Significant increases observed in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1)) by 39.5 ml (p=0.05) and peak expiratory flow (PEF) by 180.8 ml/s (p=0.006).
  • The effect on airflow (PEF) persisted after adjusting for FVC, suggesting a lung volume-mediated effect.

Conclusions:

  • Breastfeeding for a minimum of 4 months positively enhances lung volume in children.
  • The observed improvements in airflow parameters appear to be secondary to enhanced lung volume.
  • Further research is required to understand the underlying biological mechanisms driving these effects.
Abstract

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