Does breastfeeding protect children from COVID-19? An observational study from pediatric services in Majorca, Spain
Sergio Verd1,2, Jan Ramakers3, Isabel Vinuela3
1Pediatric Unit. La Vileta Surgery. Department of Primary Care, Matamusinos Street, 07013, Palma de Mallorca, Spain. drsverd@gmail.com.
Insights
Breastfeeding history may reduce children's risk of COVID-19. Children exclusively formula-fed showed a higher incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to those ever breastfed.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Epidemiology
- Immunology
Background:
- Breastfeeding offers protection against infections beyond infancy, particularly respiratory illnesses.
- The impact of breastfeeding on pediatric COVID-19 incidence remained unstudied prior to this research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if a history of breastfeeding is associated with a reduced incidence rate of COVID-19 in children.
- To determine the protective effect of breastfeeding against SARS-CoV-2 infection in pediatric populations.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of an observational study involving 691 children under 14 tested for SARS-CoV-2.
- Data collected via interviews and medical records, focusing on breastfeeding history as the key explanatory variable.
- Bivariate analyses including Chi-square, Fisher's Exact, and Student's T tests were employed.
Main Results:
- Children exclusively formula-fed had a significantly higher prevalence of positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR tests compared to those ever breastfed (OR 2.48; 95% CI 1.45-3.51).
- This suggests a potential protective effect of breastfeeding against COVID-19 in the studied pediatric cohort.
Conclusions:
- Ever breastfeeding appears to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in children.
- Findings align with established evidence of breastfeeding's benefits against other infectious diseases.
Background:
It has been demonstrated that children who had been breastfed remain better protected against various infections, and notably respiratory tract infections, well beyond infancy. Since the role of breastfeeding to explain why children are less affected by COVID-19 has not been studied until now, the aim of this study was to determine whether any history of breastfeeding reduces the incidence rate of COVID-19 in children.
Methods:
This was a secondary analysis of an observational study on clinical and epidemiological characteristics of pediatric COVID-19 in Majorca. A total of 691 children were recruited during the 5 months of August-December 2020. Eligible participants were children under 14 who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 in pediatric emergency services. The independent explanatory variable was any breastfeeding. Bivariate analyses were conducted through the Chi-square test, the Fisher's Exact test or the Student's T test. All children had the same demographic, epidemiological and clinical data collected through a study team member interview and via the participants medical records.
Results:
Within the sample of children who visited emergency services with symptoms of potential COVID-19, we found higher prevalence of positive SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test results among those who were exclusively formula fed compared with those who were ever breastfed (OR 2.48; 95% CI 1.45, 3.51; P = 0.036).
Conclusions:
The present study suggests that ever breastfeeding reduces the risk of COVID-19 among children, as documented for other infections.
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