The role of breastfeeding in sudden infant death syndrome.
The objective of this article is to review the literature regarding the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in bottle-fed infants compared to those that are breastfed. A meta-analysis and qualitative literature review were performed. Cohort and case-control studies were included if they met a minimum SIDS definition and presented data allowing calculation of an odds ratio (OR). Twenty-three studies were included in the meta-analysis. The studies were heterogeneous, and a majority (14) were of "fair" or "poor" quality. Crude ORs from 19 individual studies favored breastfeeding as protective against SIDS. The combined analysis indicated that bottle-fed infants were twice as likely to die from SIDS (pooled OR = 2.11; 95% CI 1.66-2.68). The results of the analysis show that there is an association between bottle-feeding and SIDS, but this may be related to confounding variables.
McVea
K L
KL
Department of Family Medicine, 983075 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-3075, USA.
Turner
P D
PD
Peppler
D K
DK
D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012107:Research Design; D012307:Risk Factors; D013398:Sudden Infant Death / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*