title: The relation of breastfeeding and body mass index to asthma and atopy in children: a prospective cohort study to age 6 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We investigated the relationship between breastfeeding, asthma and atopy, and child body mass index (BMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  From a prospective birth cohort (n = 2860) in Perth, Western Australia, 2195 children were followed up to age 6 years. Asthma was defined as doctor-diagnosed asthma and wheeze in the last year, and atopy was determined by skin prick test of 1596 children. Breastfeeding, BMI, asthma, and atopy were regressed allowing for confounders and the propensity score for overweight.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using fractional polynomials, we found no association between breastfeeding and overweight. Less exclusive breastfeeding was associated with increased asthma and atopy, and BMI increased with asthma.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Less exclusive breastfeeding leads to increases in child asthma and atopy and a higher BMI is a risk factor for asthma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, Dietetics adn Food Science, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. wendyo@ichr.uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Wendy H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Oddy
authors.forename: Jill L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Sherriff
authors.forename: Nicholas H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: de Klerk
authors.forename: Garth E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Kendall
authors.forename: Peter D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Sly
authors.forename: Lawrence J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Beilin
authors.forename: Kevin B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Blake
authors.forename: Louis I
authors.initials: LI
authors.lastname: Landau
authors.forename: Fiona J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Stanley
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000378:metabolism; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology