Breastfeeding Status and Duration and Infections, Hospitalizations for Infections, and Antibiotic Use in the First Two Years of Life in the ELFE Cohort

• Main Authors: Camille Davisse-Paturet, Karine Adel-Patient, Amandine Divaret-Chauveau, Juliette Pierson, Sandrine Lioret, Marie Cheminat, Marie-Noëlle Dufourg, Marie-Aline Charles, Blandine de Lauzon-Guillain
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-07-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: breastfeeding; infections; birth cohort; hospitalizations; antibiotic use
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/11/7/1607

In low- and middle-income countries, the protective effect of breastfeeding against infections is well established, but in high-income countries, the effect could be weakened by higher hygienic conditions. We aimed to examine the association between breastfeeding and infections in the first 2 years of life, in a high-income country with relatively short breastfeeding duration. Among 10,349 young children from the nationwide Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l’Enfance (ELFE) birth cohort, breastfeeding and parent-reported hospitalizations, bronchiolitis and otitis events, and antibiotic use were prospectively collected up to 2 years. Never-breastfed infants were used as reference group. Any breastfeeding for <3 months was associated with higher risks of hospitalizations from gastrointestinal infections or fever. Predominant breastfeeding for <1 month was associated with higher risk of a single hospital admission while predominant breastfeeding for ≥3 months was associated with a lower risk of long duration (≥4 nights) of hospitalization. Ever breastfeeding was associated with lower risk of antibiotic use. This study confirmed the well-known associations between breastfeeding and hospitalizations but also highlighted a strong inverse association between breastfeeding and antibiotic use. Although we cannot infer causality from this observational study, this finding is worth highlighting in a context of rising concern regarding antibiotic resistance.