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. 2019 Jul 15;11(7):1607.
doi: 10.3390/nu11071607.

Breastfeeding Status and Duration and Infections, Hospitalizations for Infections, and Antibiotic Use in the First Two Years of Life in the ELFE Cohort

Camille Davisse-Paturet  1 , Karine Adel-Patient  2 , Amandine Divaret-Chauveau  3   4 , Juliette Pierson  5 , Sandrine Lioret  5 , Marie Cheminat  6 , Marie-Noëlle Dufourg  6 , Marie-Aline Charles  5   6 , Blandine de Lauzon-Guillain  7
Affiliations

Breastfeeding Status and Duration and Infections, Hospitalizations for Infections, and Antibiotic Use in the First Two Years of Life in the ELFE Cohort

Camille Davisse-Paturet et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

In low- and middle-income countries, the protective effect of breastfeeding against infections is well established, but in high-income countries, the effect could be weakened by higher hygienic conditions. We aimed to examine the association between breastfeeding and infections in the first 2 years of life, in a high-income country with relatively short breastfeeding duration. Among 10,349 young children from the nationwide Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance (ELFE) birth cohort, breastfeeding and parent-reported hospitalizations, bronchiolitis and otitis events, and antibiotic use were prospectively collected up to 2 years. Never-breastfed infants were used as reference group. Any breastfeeding for <3 months was associated with higher risks of hospitalizations from gastrointestinal infections or fever. Predominant breastfeeding for <1 month was associated with higher risk of a single hospital admission while predominant breastfeeding for ≥3 months was associated with a lower risk of long duration (≥4 nights) of hospitalization. Ever breastfeeding was associated with lower risk of antibiotic use. This study confirmed the well-known associations between breastfeeding and hospitalizations but also highlighted a strong inverse association between breastfeeding and antibiotic use. Although we cannot infer causality from this observational study, this finding is worth highlighting in a context of rising concern regarding antibiotic resistance.

Keywords: antibiotic use; birth cohort; breastfeeding; hospitalizations; infections.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders of the ELFE survey had no role in the design of the present study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sample selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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