Breast-fed babies are twice as likely to develop asthma in later life as those not brought up on their mother’s milk, according to what was described as ”startling” new research in New Zealand reported on Friday.
A study from the University of Otago which involved
1 000 children born between 1972 and 1973 in the South Island city of Dunedin challenged previous research that indicated breastfeeding reduced the risk of asthma.
The research, due to be reported in the British medical journal The Lancet on Saturday, was a startling discovery that overturned conventional medical wisdom that breastfeeding protects against the condition, Radio New Zealand said.
Half of the 1 000 children studied had been breastfed for more than four weeks and the research showed that more of them were diagnosed asthmatic between the ages of nine and 26 than the others.
More of them were also allergic to cats, dust mites and grass pollen between the ages of 13 to 21 than those who had not been fed their mother’s milk.
The researchers, who said they had taken into account risk factors such as family history and parental smoking, stressed their study did not mean babies should not be breastfed, as there were other reasons why it was beneficial.
One of the researchers, Dr Richard Poulton, told the radio station it was ”certainly a step forward on all previous work”.
He said mother’s milk was ”without doubt the best form of nutrition for young babies”, protected against early infection and may even protect against obesity later in life.
But Poulton said the researchers speculated that bottle-fed babies may get some form of protection against disease which could result from the bottles introducing germs or bacteria.
Poulton said experts trying to understand increasing rates of asthma and allergies wondered if people were living in environments that were ”far too clean” and immune systems were ”just sitting around twiddling their thumbs with nothing to do it’s so clean”.
”On the balance of evidence to advertise breast-feeding as protection against asthma and allergy is not right. It doesn’t mean that it’s not good for other things.”
Dr Pat Tuohy, the health ministry’s adviser on child health, said it was too early to change advice to mothers to breast feed and said their milk remained the best food for babies. – Sapa-DPA