title: Breastfeeding and Asthmatic Symptoms in The Offspring of Latinas: The Role of Maternal Nativity.
abstract: Previous research has generally found exclusive breastfeeding to protect against asthma in young children. However, maternal nativity in a Latina population has not been assessed as a potential confounder or effect modifier. Using cross-sectional data restricted to Latina mothers (n = 704) from a birth cohort in Los Angeles interviewed in 2003 and 2006, we estimated risk ratios (RR) for exclusive breastfeeding and asthmatic symptoms in the offspring. 56 children (8%) had asthmatic symptoms at age 3.5 years. We found a 49% reduction in risk of asthmatic symptoms with >3 months of exclusive breastfeeding (aRR 0.51, 95% CI 0.28, 0.90). Foreign-born Latinas were more likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding for at least 3 months compared with US-born Latinas. Three or more months of exclusive breastfeeding reduced the risk of asthmatic symptoms in the offspring of Latinas, and maternal nativity did not confound or modify this association.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. gbandoli@ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Gretchen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bandoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Ondine S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: von Ehrenstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Social Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Marie E S
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health, Box 951772, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ritz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000208:ethnology*; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015141:Los Angeles / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Asthma; Breastfeeding; Epidemiology; Immigrant health; Maternal nativity