Protective effect of breastfeeding on recurrent cough in adulthood.
RATIONALE
Breastfeeding protects from respiratory infections in early life but its relationship to recurrent cough and other respiratory outcomes in adult life is not well established.


METHODS
Infant feeding practices were assessed prospectively in the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study, a non-selected birth cohort and categorised into formula from birth or introduced <1 month, formula introduced ≥1 to <4 months and exclusive breastfeeding for ≥4 months. Infant feeding was assessed as an ordinal variable representing an increasing dose of breastmilk across the three categories. Recurrent cough was defined at 22, 26 and 32 years as ≥2 episodes of cough without a cold lasting 1 week during the past year. Covariates included participant sex, race/ethnicity and smoking as well as parental smoking, education, age and asthma. Covariates were evaluated as potential confounders for the relation between infant feeding and adult outcomes.


RESULTS
Of the 786 participants, 19% breastfed <1 month, 50% breastfed ≥1 to <4 months and 31% breastfed ≥4 months. The prevalence of recurrent cough at 22, 26 and 32 years was 17%, 15% and 16%, respectively. Each ordinal increase in breastfeeding duration was associated with a decreased risk of recurrent cough in adult life: adjusted OR=0.71, (95% CI: 0.56 to 0.89), p=0.004. Additional adjustment for concurrent adult asthma, wheeze, smoking and lung volume did not change these results.


CONCLUSION
Longer duration of breastfeeding reduces the risk of recurrent cough in adult life, regardless of smoking and other respiratory symptoms, suggesting long-term protective effects on respiratory health.
['Gerhart|Kimberly D|KD|', 'Stern|Debra A|DA|', 'Guerra|Stefano|S|', 'Morgan|Wayne J|WJ|', 'Martinez|Fernando D|FD|', 'Wright|Anne L|AL|']
D000328:Adult D001942:Breast Feeding D015331:Cohort Studies D003371:Cough D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007223:Infant D007231:Infant, Newborn D008297:Male D012008:Recurrence D013997:Time Factors D055815:Young Adult
asthma cough/mechanisms/pharmacology