I thought it would be helpful for those of you who are being asked to
discuss/comment on the bf/asthma study to see some of the comments by the
researchers, by Dr. Jack Newman, and by LLL, published in Canadian
newspapers this morning. Note the researchers plan a follow-up study.

-- Jodine Chase

http://www.canada.com/search/site/story.asp?id=F25EFD76-2192-4263-8675-938CF
5897BE0

>
> Dr. Malcolm Sears, the lead researcher and a professor of medicine at McMaster
> University in Hamilton, expects an onslaught of criticism after the study is
> published in The Lancet, a British medical journal, tomorrow.
>
> "There are many, many reasons why breast-feeding is good," he said in an
> interview.
>
> "All we're saying is that it doesn't protect against asthma and allergies
> long-term, and in fact seems to increase the risk. If there are 100 reasons
> why it [breast-feeding] is good and one reason why it's bad, then you go for
> the 100 reasons why it's good."

<snip>

>
> Dr. Sears was shocked by the results because they countered the research
> team's expectations. He initially assumed someone had erred while crunching
> the numbers.
>
> What sets this study apart is its length: Most people's assumptions about the
> link between asthma and breast milk are based on the results of short-term
> studies, Dr. Sears said. Breast-feeding may indeed protect against asthma and
> allergies, but that trend reverses itself over the long term, he explained.

<snip>
>
> Dr. Jack Newman, a leading Canadian breast-feeding advocate who established
> the first hospital-based breast-feeding clinic in the country, is skeptical of
> the new findings. Almost all newborn babies are fed at least one or two
> bottles of supplementary formula before they leave the hospital, which can
> skew the results of any study comparing breast-feeding and formula-feeding, he
> said.
>
> "Why does this study invalidate other studies that came before it? I don't
> think it does," he said.
>
> The researchers acknowledge most of the children probably received some
> formula feeding in their first days of life, but stress that fact does not
> affect their results.
>


And from the Globe and Mail:
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/front/RTGAM/20020920/wbreast
0920/Front/homeBN/breakingnews

> Britain's National Childbirth Trust, which encourages breastfeeding, said most
> of the scientific studies have shown a positive effect against asthma.
>
> "This new research is just one study looking at the link between breastfeeding
> and asthma, with the body of evidence firmly supporting the view that
> breastfeeding helps to reduce the risk of asthma in early childhood," Rosie
> Dodds, the policy and research officer at the trust, said in a statement.

From the Hamilton Spectator:
http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/L
ayout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1032473017919&call_pageid=1014656273827

> The La Leche League of Canada, part of an international support network for
> breast-feeding women, was caught off guard by the results.
>
> "I have a lot more questions than answers from this study," said spokesperson
> Kimberley MacKenzie of Barrie. "It's all very surprising and we would like to
> see more research."

<snip>

> (Sears) couldn't believe it when results turned out to be exactly the
> opposite. In
> fact, Sears was so surprised he asked his data manager to doublecheck to
> insure there hadn't been a coding error.
>
> She told him it was too late. She was so upset by the findings, she checked
> the data three times. "It's not just been doubled-checked," Sears said. "It's
> been checked and rechecked."
>
> He said he knows the results will be controversial "but we made thoroughly
> certain that it was all absolutely watertight information before we went to
> press."
>
> Sears expects people will be concerned. He agrees with the La Leche League
> that a lot of new questions about what is actually going on will arise from
> his study.
>
> As his next step, he is gearing up to launch a solely Hamilton-based study
> which will be bigger than the New Zealand study but will ask the same
> questions about the impact of breastfeeding.
>
> In an accompanying commentary, Peter Sly from the Telethon Institute for Child
> Health Reteach, and Patrick Holt from the Centre for Child Health Research in
> Perth, Australia, said various researchers have come up with different
> findings, creating a confusing picture for scientists and parents.
>
> "Although there are many valid reasons for encouraging breastfeeding during
> the first four to six months of life, based on the current evidence, the
> prevention of asthma and allergies is not one of them," they said.

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