Abstract
Claims that breast-feeding provides protection against hospitalizations due to infections during infancy have been based on studies with methodologic flaws: few cases in cohort studies and controls poorly matched for SES, time of year, and pediatrician in case-control studies. To determine whether breast-feeding is indeed protective, we performed a case-control study with carefully matched controls.
From a list of all children < 3 months of age hospitalized for an infectious illness at Yale-New Haven Hospital from 7/1/79 to 6/30/80, cases were selected according to the following criteria: born at YNHH, no postnatal problems that might affect mode of feeding (e.g. prematurity), and discharged post-partum with the mother. For each case, a control was selected from a list of all infants born at the same hospital. Controls were matched for date of birth (to control for seasonal illnesses), sex, race, SES, and site of pediatric care (to control for the physician's likelihood of admitting a sick infant).
Ninety-six matched pairs were analyzed. Breast-feeding, as noted in the hospital chart before discharge from the well-baby nursery, was not protective (p > .1; odds ratio = 1.42). In the 45 patient pairs from private practices, breast-feeding was borderline protective (p > .05; odds ratio = 2.25).
These results indicate that breast-feeding during infancy may not be protective against hospitalizations due to infections.
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Aten, C., Leventhal, J. & Pearson, H. 586 BREAST-FEEDING AND HOSPITALIZATIONS DURING INFANCY. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 538 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00599
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-00599