American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 131, No. 2: 322-331
Copyright © 1990 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
research-article |
BREAST FEEDING PROTECTS INFANTS IN INDONESIA AGAINST ILLNESS AND WEIGHT LOSS DUE TO ILLNESS
1Prevention Research Program, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD
2Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University Ithaca, NY
3Faculty of Medicine, The University of Airlangga Surabaya, Indonesia
Reprint requests to Dr. Lenore J. Launer, PRP/NICHD/NIH, EPN Rm 640, Bethesda, MD 20892
The authors tested the hypothesis that breast feeding modifies the effect of morbidity on growth by examining, at different levels of breast feeding: 1) number of days ill; and 2) the relation between morbidity and weight change. A total of 200 observations made at 3-weekly intervals between 1983 and 1984 on 33 breast-fed infants from a rural village on the island of Madura, Indonesia were used. Levels of breast feeding were defined as quartiles (Q1–Q4) of proportion of household visit time spent breast feeding. Regression analysis and analysis of variance were used and within child effects examined. Number of days ill from respiratory tract illness decreased significantly (p = 0.01) as quartile of breast feeding increased. Weight change was not affected by respiratory tract illness in Q2–Q4 but was significantly and negatively affected by such illness in the lowest quartile, Q1 (ß = –22.5 ± 4.8 g/day ill). The slopes of Q2–Q4 were not significantly different from each other but were significantly different (p = 0.0094) from the Q1 slope. The authors examined whether measurement, reverse causality, or confounding bias changed the interpretation of findings; they did not. The authors conclude that breast feeding protects infants against the nutritional consequences of illness by decreasing the number of days with respiratory tract illness and protecting against weight loss due to this form of illness. However, this protective effect of breast feeding is attained only when levels of breast feeding are adequate, because at the lowest level of breast feeding, illness had a negative Impact on weight performance.
breast feeding; infant nutrition; morbidity; respiratory tract infections
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  S. Villalpando and M. López-Alarcón Growth Faltering Is Prevented by Breast-Feeding in Underprivileged Infants from Mexico City J. Nutr., March 1, 2000; 130(3): 546 - 552. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Orozco, H. Martínez, H. Reyes, and H. Guiscafré A Scale Without Anthropometric Measurements Can Be Used to Identify Low Weight-for-Age in Children Less than Five Years Old J. Nutr., December 1, 1998; 128(12): 2363 - 2368. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. López-Alarcón, S. Villalpando, and A. Fajardo Breast-Feeding Lowers the Frequency and Duration of Acute Respiratory Infection and Diarrhea in Infants under Six Months of Age J. Nutr., March 1, 1997; 127(3): 436 - 443. [Abstract] [Full Text]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 H. C. Armstrong International Recommendations for Consistent Breastfeeding Definitions J Hum Lact, June 1, 1991; 7(2): 51 - 54. [PDF]
|
|