Breastfeeding as prophylaxis against atopic disease

Daycare attendance before the age of two protects against atopy in preschool age children

“…17 There have been few studies of the effect of breast-feeding on atopy, but one cohort study showed a nonsignificant increased risk of atopy among adults who had been breastfed. 27 Another cohort study showed a decreased risk of atopy at age 6 years in children exclusively breast-fed for at least 3 months, as well as in children who were breast fed for less than 3 months. 28 Our finding is not explained by mothers being more likely to breast-feed their babies if either parent had a history of asthma, as there was no significant difference in the prevalence of breast-feeding between parents with and without asthma (P ‫ס‬ 0.9).…”

Breastfeeding Duration and Academic Achievement at 10 Years

“…In contrast, other studies have collected data as late as 5 to 11 years after the breastfeeding period. 11 Previous research 12 revealed that maternal recall is a valid and reliable estimate of breastfeeding initiation and duration, especially when the recall is 3 years or less after the breastfeeding period. Hence, our breastfeeding data were of adequate quality, and recall of breastfeeding duration was close enough to the time of feeding to be valid.…”

Breastfeeding and the prevalence of symptoms of allergic disorders in Japanese adolescents

“…Breastfeeding was significantly associated with an increased risk of hayfever in the National Child Development Study [20]. There are also studies that found no association between breastfeeding and allergic disease [14, 20–23]. In two recent systematic reviews with meta‐analysis of prospective studies, Gdalevich et al found a protective effect of breastfeeding on asthma and atopic eczema, especially among children with a family history of atopy [24, 25].…”