Bedding materials and early infant wheezing: A randomised controlled trial.

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Environmental Health
• Allergy and Immunology

Background:

• Observational studies suggest a link between bedding materials and childhood wheezing.
• Synthetic bedding is associated with increased wheezing, while feather bedding is linked to decreased wheezing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that feather bedding reduces wheezing in infants.
• To investigate the impact of synthetic, wool, and feather bedding on respiratory health in early childhood.

Main Methods:

• A three-armed, parallel, randomized trial involving 460 infants in Wellington, New Zealand.
• Infants were assigned synthetic, wool, or feather sleepsacks from 3 months to 2 years of age.
• Wheezing, respiratory parameters, and atopic status were assessed at 2 years.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in reported or doctor-diagnosed wheezing were found across bedding material groups.
• A significantly increased rate of wheezing presentation at GP surgery was observed for children using feather materials compared to synthetic (RR 2.00, 95% CI: 1.14, 3.52).

Conclusions:

• The study does not support previous observational findings linking synthetic bedding to higher wheezing rates or feather bedding to lower rates in early childhood.
• Selection bias, where parents of at-risk children avoid feather bedding, may explain the discrepancy with observational studies.