Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Atencion Primaria logoLink to Atencion Primaria
. 2013 Apr 5;29(5):268–275. [Article in Spanish] doi: 10.1016/S0212-6567(02)70563-5

Influencia del tipo de lactancia y otros factores sobre la incidencia de infecciones del tracto respiratorio en lactantes controlados en un centro de atención primaria

Influence of type of infant feeding and other factors on the incidence of respiratory tract infections in infants followed at a primary care center

JC Buñuel Álvarez a,*, C Vila Pablos a, M Puig Congost b, S Díez García b, A Corral Tomàs c, M Pérez Oliveras c
PMCID: PMC7684235  PMID: 11996726

Abstract

Objetive

To determine the influence of type of infant feeding on the incidence of lower (LRTI) and upper respiratory tract infections during the first 12 months of life.

Design

Historical cohort study.

Setting

Primary care centers.

Participants

A total of 250 babies born at term between October 1, 1994 and February 1, 1998. Inclusion criteria: current medical record available at a participating primary care center, participation in a Healthy Baby Program, residence in the basic health area involved in the study, birth weight #>2500 g. Interventions. Breastfeeding alone or in combination with formula feeding; artificial feeding alone.

Main outcome measures and results

Attending day care, antecedents of atopy, father´s and mother´s smoking habit, parents´ level of education, number of persons in the household, mother´s age. There was no association between type of feeding and the incidence of respiratory infections. All 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of the odds ratios (OR) included the value of 1. At age 3 months, LRTI was associated with the number of persons in the household (OR, 1,87; 95% CI, 1.18–2.95) and with antecedents of atopy (OR, 2.96; 95% CI, 1.19–7.4). At age 6 months, LRTI was associated with the number of persons in the household (OR, 1.62; 95% CI, 1.07–2.44) and with attending day care (OR, 4.52; 95% CI, 1.20–17.1).

Conclusions

In the present study breastfeeding was not effective in lowering the incidence of respiratory infections.

Key words: Breastfeeding, Artificial feeding, Primary care, Respiratory infection

References

  • 1.Cunningham A.S., Jellife D.B., Jelliffe E.F.P. Breastfeeding and health in the 1980s: a global epidemiologic review. J Pediatr. 1991;118:659–666. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(05)80023-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.Feachem R.G., Koblinsky M.A. Interventions for the control of diarrheal diseases in young children: promotion of breastfeeding. Bull World Health Organ. 1984;62:271–291. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Mata L. Breast-feeding: main promoter of infant health. Am J Clin Nutr. 1978;31:2058–2065. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/31.11.2058. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Plank S.J., Milanese M.L. Infant feeding and infant mortality in rural Chile. Bull World Health Organ. 1973;48:203–210. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Chen Y., Yu S., Li W. Artificial feeding and hospitalization in the first 18 months of life. Pediatrics. 1988;81:58–62. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Jason J.M., Nieburg P., Marks J.S. Mortality and infectious disease associated with infant feeding practices in developing countries. Pediatrics. 1984;74:702–727. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7.Habitcht J.P., Da Vanzo J., Butz W.P. Does breast feeding really save lives, or are apparent benefits due to biases? Am J Epidemiol. 1986;123:279–290. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114236. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 8.Victora C.G., Vaughan J.P., Lambardi C. Evidence for protection by breast feeding against infant deaths from infectious diseases in Brasil. Lancet. 1987;2:319–322. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(87)90902-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Rubin D.H., Leventhal J.M., Krasilnikoff P.A., Kno Hs., Jekel J.F., Weile B. Relationship between infant feeding and infections illness: a prospective study of infants during the first year of life. Pediatrics. 1990;85:464–471. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 10.Watkins C.J., Leeder S.R., Corkhill R.T. The relationship between breast and bottle feeding and respiratory illness in the first year of life. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1979;33:180–182. doi: 10.1136/jech.33.3.180. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 11.Downham M.A.P., Scott R., Sims D.G., Webb J.K., Gardner P.S. Breast-feeding protects against respiratory syncytial virus infections. BMJ. 1976;2:274–276. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.6030.274. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 12.Paine R., Coble R.J. Breast-feeding and infant health in a rural US community. Am J Dis Child. 1982;136:36–38. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1982.03970370038009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 13.Taylor B., Wadsworth J., Golding J., Butler N. Breast-feeding, bronchitis, and admissions for lower-respiratory illness and gastroenteritis during the first five years. Lancet. 1982;1:1227–1229. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(82)92347-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 14.Hill A.B. A short textbook of medical statistics. Hodder & Stoughton; London: 1977. p. 27. [Google Scholar]
  • 15.Sauls H.S. Potential effect of demographic and other variables in studies comparing morbidity of breast-fed and bottle-fed infants. Pediatrics. 1979;64:523–527. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16.Bauchner H., Leventhal J.M., Shapiro E.D. Studies of breast-feeding and infections: how good is the evidence? JAMA. 1986;256:887–892. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 17.Scariati P.D., Grummer-Strawn, Fein S.B. A longitudinal analysis of infant morbidity and the extent of breastfeeding in the United States. Pediatrics. 1997;99:5. doi: 10.1542/peds.99.6.e5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 18.Argimón J.M., Jiménez J. Métodos de investigación aplicados a la atención primaria de salud. Doyma; Barcelona: 1991. p. 81. [Google Scholar]
  • 19.Domènech J.M., Sarrià A. Confusión e interacción. UD 8. In: Doménech J.M., editor. Análisis multivariante en ciencias de la salud: modelos de regresión. Signo; Barcelona: 1996. [Google Scholar]
  • 20.Domènech J.M., Sarrià A. Modelo de regresión logística. UD 13. In: Domènech J.M., editor. Análisis multivariante en ciencias de la salud: modelos de regresión. Signo; Barcelona: 1996. [Google Scholar]
  • 21.Rubin D.H., Leventhal J.M., Krasilnikoff P.A., Kuo H.S., Jekel J.F., Weile B. Relationship between infant feeding and infectious illness: a prospective study of infants during the first year of life. Pediatrics. 1990;85:464–471. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 22.Chye J.K., Lim C.T. Breastfeeding at 6 months and effects on infections. Singapore Med J. 1998;39:551–556. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 23.Dewey K.G., Heinig M.J., Nommsen-Rivers L.A. Differences in morbidity between breast-fed and formula-fed infants. J Pediatr. 1995;126:696–702. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(95)70395-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 24.Watkins C.J., Leeder S.R., Corkhill R.T. The relationship between breast and bottle feeding and respiratory illness in the first year of life. J Epidemiol Community Health. 1979;33:180–182. doi: 10.1136/jech.33.3.180. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 25.Wright A.L., Bauer M., Naylor A., Sutcliffe E., Clark L. Increasing breastfeeding rates to reduce infant illness at the community level. Pediatrics. 1998;101:837–844. doi: 10.1542/peds.101.5.837. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 26.Beaudry M., Dufour R., Marcoux S. Relation between infant feeding and infections during the first six months of life. J Pediatr. 1995;126:191–197. doi: 10.1016/s0022-3476(95)70544-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 27.Kramer M.S., Chalmers B., Hodnett E.D., Sevkovskaya Z., Dzikovich I., Shapiro S. Promotion of breastfeeding intervention trial (PROBIT). A randomized trial in the republic of Belarus. JAMA. 2001;285:413–420. doi: 10.1001/jama.285.4.413. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 28.Gálvez R., Delgado M., Bueno A. Estudios de cohortes. In: Piédrola G., editor. Medicina preventiva y salud pública. 9.a ed. Masson-Salvat; Barcelona: 1991. pp. 105–106. [Google Scholar]
  • 29.Louhiala P.J., Jaakkola N., Ruotsalainen R., Jaakkola J.K. Form of day care and respiratory infections among finnish children. Am J Public Health. 1995;85:1109–1112. doi: 10.2105/ajph.85.8_pt_1.1109. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 30.Bosken C.H., Hunt W.C., Lambert W.E., Samet J.M. A parental history of asthma is a risk factor for wheezing and nonwheezing respiratory illnesses in infants younger than 18 months of age. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2000;161:1810–1815. doi: 10.1164/ajrccm.161.6.9903030. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 31.Fonseca W., Kirkwood B.R., Victora C.G., Fuchs S.R., Flores J.A., Misago C. Risk factors for childhood pneumonia among the urban poor in Fortaleza, Brasil: a case-control study. Bull World Health Organ. 1996;74:199–208. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 32.Roberts L., Smith W., Jorm L., Patel M., Douglas R.M., McGilchrist C. Effect of infection control measures on the frequency of upper respiratory infection in child care: a randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics. 2000;105:738–742. doi: 10.1542/peds.105.4.738. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Atencion Primaria are provided here courtesy of Elsevier

RESOURCES