title: Breastfeeding and wheeze prevalence in pre-schoolers and pre-adolescents: the Genesis and Healthy Growth studies.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To date, extensive research has been undertaken on a potential link of breastfeeding (BF) to wheezing illnesses. Nevertheless, an association remains to be established, partly due to age-dependent discrepancies and different definitions of exposures/outcomes across studies. We thus investigated the relation of diverse infantile feeding patterns with wheeze/asthma prevalence in two cohorts of children of different ages (preschool and preadolescent).
  
  
  METHODS
  Wheeze ever/in the last 12 months (current) and doctor-diagnosed asthma were retrospectively reported by parents of the participants of two cross-sectional studies: the Genesis study (1871 children aged 1-5) and the Healthy Growth study (1884 children aged 9-13). Information on feeding practices (exclusive breastfeeding vs. mixed vs. formula feeding) and their duration (2 vs. 4 vs. 6 months) was recorded. Perinatal and anthorpometric data were also collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In pre-schoolers, regimes that did not entail exclusive BF were positively correlated to current/ever wheeze, both before and after adjustment for confounders. No differences between the associations of regimes with 2, 4 or 6 months of exclusive BF with current/ever wheeze were shown. Furthermore, there was no consistent correlation of feeding practices with physician-diagnosed asthma. In pre-adolescents, no association of infantile feeding patterns with the wheeze/asthma outcomes was observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Exclusive BF is associated with reduced prevalence of current/ever wheeze in pre-schoolers; however, this appears to wane in older children. The association of a period of exclusive BF as low as 2 months with pre-school wheeze prevalence, appeared to be comparable with that of 6 months of exclusivity.
authors.affiliation: Allergy Department, 2nd Pediatric Clinic, University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: George V
authors.initials: GV
authors.lastname: Guibas
authors.forename: Paraskevi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xepapadaki
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moschonis
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Douladiris
authors.forename: Amalia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Filippou
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tsirigoti
authors.forename: Yannis
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Manios
authors.forename: Nikolaos G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Papadopoulos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002417:Cattle; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D015995:Prevalence; D012135:Respiratory Sounds / Q000175:diagnosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: asthma; breastfeeding; preadolescents; preschoolers; wheeze