Is being breastfed as an infant associated with adult pulmonary function?
OBJECTIVE
Breastfeeding reduces the risk of asthma and respiratory infections in infants. Since respiratory infections are associated with reduced pulmonary function in adolescents, pulmonary function impairment may be carried into adulthood. Our aim was to determine whether a history of having been breastfed as an infant is a determinant of adult pulmonary function.


METHODS
We analyzed data from a general population sample of residents of Erie and Niagara Counties between September 1995 and December 1999. We calculated forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)) and forced vital capacity (FVC) prediction equations and used multiple linear regression models to study the association between having been breastfed as an infant and percentage predicted FEV(1) (FEV(1)%) and percentage predicted FVC (FVC%) after adjustment for covariates.


RESULTS
Of 2305 subjects, 62% reported having been breastfed. After controlling for age, gender, weight, smoking status, pack-years of smoking, eosinophil counts and dietary factors, there was no association between having been breastfed (yes/no) and FEV(1)% or FVC% (regression coefficients 0.0049, p = 0.46 and 0.0055, p = 0.43, respectively).


CONCLUSIONS
We did not find a strong or consistent association between having been breastfed as an infant and pulmonary function in adulthood.
Shaukat
Aasma
A
Department of Medicine, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA.
Freudenheim
Jo L
JL
Grant
Brydon J B
BJ
Muti
Paola
P
Ochs-Balcom
Heather M
HM
McCann
Susan E
SE
Trevisan
Maurizio
M
Iacoviello
Licia
L
Schünemann
Holger J
HJ
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000886:Anthropometry; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002170:Canada; D005260:Female; D005540:Forced Expiratory Flow Rates; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016014:Linear Models; D008168:Lung / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014797:Vital Capacity / Q000502:physiology*