title: Is being breastfed as an infant associated with adult pulmonary function?
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA.
authors.forename: Aasma
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shaukat
authors.forename: Jo L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Freudenheim
authors.forename: Brydon J B
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Muti
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ochs-Balcom
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: McCann
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trevisan
authors.forename: Licia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Iacoviello
authors.forename: Holger J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Schünemann
mesh_terms: 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*