Effect of feeding pattern on infant illness in Chinese cities

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of different feeding patterns on the occurrence of diseases among infants. Design: Data on socio-economic status, feeding patterns before 6 months (exclusive breast-feeding (EBF); mixed feeding with breast milk and formula (MBF); exclusive formula-feeding (EFF)) and illness of infants were collected via face-to-face interviews. The proportions of infants who had ever been ill or hospitalized and their potential influence factors were investigated. Setting: Eight large cities in China. Subjects: Infants (n 1654) aged 0-11·9 months were recruited from hospitals. Results: For infants aged 0-2·9 months, the percentage who had been ill was 19·2 %, 24·1 % and 26·3 % among the EBF, MBF and EFF groups, respectively. For those aged 3-5·9 and 6-11·9 months, the corresponding percentages were 41·6 %, 45·6 % and 51·0 %, and 67·0 %, 73·4 % and 67·7 %. Respiratory disease was the most common reported illness and cause of hospitalization.

Exclusive Breastfeeding and Childhood Morbidity: A Narrative Review

“…Almost all studies that analyzed the duration of EBF reported the protective effects of a longer EBF duration. A total of 16 studies used the WHO definition of EBF for describing the explanatory variable, and two studies provided a slight variant of the WHO definition of EBF [ 56 , 75 ]. A total of 32 studies provided no specific definition for EBF.…”

“…Out of the 28 studies that included diarrhea as the outcome variable, nearly all studies ( n = 27; one meta-analysis, 19 cross-sectional, five cohort, and two case–control studies) found a statistically significant decrease in the risk of diarrhea in children who were EBF [ 14 , 18 , 24 , 27 , 31 , 39 , 42 , 43 , 53 , 55 , 56 , 58 , 60 , 62 , 63 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ]. Only one paper did not find a statistically significant association, and this analysis looked at diarrhea and ARI comorbidity [ 68 ].…”

The Relationship between Exclusive Breastfeeding and Diarrhea in Infant 6-12 Months

“…27 Exclusive breastfeeding protects children under five against diarrhea. 18,19,26,[28][29][30][31][32][33] A systematic review revealed that there was a significant benefit in the prevalence of rotavirus diarrhea with exclusive breastfeeding practices. Exclusive breastfeeding provides infant protection from rotavirus diarrhea in children under two years old.…”

“…38 Exclusive breastfeeding has a protective effect on all diseases in infants in China including diarrhea, acute respiratory infection, and allergies. 26 Some previous studies have showed that exclusive breastfeeding is associated with the frequency of illness. [39][40][41][42] Some factors cause diarrhea, namely infection, malabsorption, and food allergies.…”

“…25 Another study by Cai et al revealed that exclusive breastfeeding has a protective effect on all diseases including diarrhea in infants in China. 26 This study aims to analyze the relationship between exclusive breastfeeding and diarrhea in infants.…”