Vaccination News Home Page                                            subscribe Vaccination NewsLetter

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/447256?mpid=8185

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jan 01 - Results of a prospective birth cohort study conducted in Sweden suggest that breast feeding has a preventive effect on the early development of multiple allergic diseases.

Dr. Magnus Wickman of the Karolinska Hospital in Stockholm and colleagues had parents of 4089 infants complete detailed questionnaires about various exposures, allergic symptoms, and feeding habits at roughly 2 months and 1 and 2 years of age. Parents of 3791 infants completed all three questionnaires and were included in analyses.

Children exclusively breast fed for four months or more had less asthma, less atopic dermatitis, and less suspected allergic rhinitis by age 2 than children breast fed for a shorter period of time, with adjusted odds ratios of 0.7, 0.8, and 0.7, respectively.

"A risk reduction also appeared for partial breast feeding on development of asthma and severe symptoms of allergic disease," the team reports in the December Archives of Diseases of Childhood.

Infants partially breast fed for six months or more had an adjusted odds ratio for development of asthma of 0.7. However, due to "considerable" overlap between the two groups, they say it was hard to "disentangle" the effects of exclusive and partial breast feeding.

Children with a parental history of atopic disease derived the greatest benefit from breast feeding, Dr. Wickman and colleagues say. By continuing to follow this cohort of children they hope to see whether the protective effect of breast feeding remains.

Arch Dis Child 2002;87:478-481.

Reuters Health Information 2003. © 2003 Reuters Ltd. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

Vaccination News Home Page

ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.