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Relationship between breastfeeding and asthma prevalence in young children exposed to adverse childhood experiences

Nancy E Abarca1, Aris C Garro2, Deborah N Pearlman1

  • 1a Department of Epidemiology , Brown University, School of Public Health , Rhode Island , USA.

The Journal of Asthma : Official Journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma
|March 14, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Breastfeeding for at least six months may prevent childhood asthma. However, this protective effect diminishes with multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), suggesting ACEs may override breastfeeding benefits.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood asthma is a significant public health concern.
  • Breastfeeding is recognized for its numerous health benefits.
  • The influence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on chronic disease risk is increasingly studied.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the association between the duration of supplemental breastfeeding and asthma risk in young children.
  • To investigate whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) modify the relationship between breastfeeding and asthma.
  • To analyze asthma risk in children aged 3 to 5 years.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the 2011-2012 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey.
  • Employed modified Poisson regression models to estimate incident risk ratios (IRR) for asthma.
  • Conducted stratified analyses to test for effect measure modification by ACEs.

Main Results:

  • Exclusive breastfeeding (≥6 months) or supplemental breastfeeding (≥12 months) was associated with reduced lifetime asthma prevalence (IRR 0.64 and 0.68, respectively).
  • Breastfeeding demonstrated a protective effect against lifetime asthma for children with one ACE.
  • The protective effect of breastfeeding was attenuated in children experiencing two or more ACEs.

Conclusions:

  • Exclusive and supplemental breastfeeding may prevent or delay the onset of childhood asthma.
  • The protective benefits of breastfeeding against asthma may be diminished by multiple ACEs.
  • Further research is needed to understand the interplay between early life adversities, breastfeeding, and asthma development.
Abstract

Keywords:
Childhood asthmaNational Survey of Children's Healthadverse childhood experiencesbreastfeeding

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