- Title
- Breastfeeding and wheeze-related outcomes in high-risk infants: A systematic review and meta-analysis
- Creator
- Harvey, Soriah M.; Murphy, Vanessa E.; Whalen, Olivia M.; Gibson, Peter G.; Jensen, Megan E.
- Relation
- NHMRC.1084816 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1084816
- Relation
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 113, Issue 6, p. 1609-1618
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa442
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Background: The risk of wheezing is high in infancy and is heightened in infants with a family history of asthma/atopy. The role of breastfeeding in influencing respiratory health for these high-risk infants is unclear. Objectives: To systematically appraise evidence for the association between breastfeeding and wheeze incidences and severity in high-risk infants. Methods: Studies identified through electronic databases and reference lists were eligible if they assessed breastfeeding and respiratory outcomes in infants with a family history of asthma/atopy. The primary outcome was wheeze incidences in the first year of life. Secondary outcomes were wheeze incidences in the first 6 months of life, indicators of wheeze severity (recurrent wheeze, health-care utilization, and medication use), and other wheeze-related outcomes [bronchiolitis, pneumonia, croup, and incidence of lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI)] up to 12 months old. Meta-analyses were conducted where possible. Results: Of 1843 articles screened, 15 observational studies met the inclusion criteria. Breastfeeding was associated with 32% reduced odds of wheezing during the first year of life (ever vs. never: OR, 0.68; 95% CI: 0.53, 0.88; n = 9 studies); this association was even stronger in the first 6 months (OR, 0.45; 95% CI: 0.27, 0.75; n = 5 studies). Breastfeeding for a “longer” versus “shorter” time (approximately longer vs. shorter than 3 months) was associated with 50% reduced odds of wheezing at the age of 6 months (OR, 0.50; 95% CI: 0.39, 0.64; n = 3 studies). Conclusions: Breastfeeding was associated with reduced odds of wheezing in high-risk infants, with the strongest protection in the first 6 months. More research is needed to understand the impact of breastfeeding intensity on wheezing and to examine additional respiratory outcomes, including wheeze severity. This review was registered at PROSPERO as CRD42019118631.
- Subject
- nutrition; breastfeeding; infant; wheeze; respiratory; pediatrics; SDG 3; Sustainable Development Goals
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1464713
- Identifier
- uon:47084
- Identifier
- ISSN:0002-9165
- Language
- eng
- Reviewed
- Hits: 416
- Visitors: 416
- Downloads: 0