NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who are not exclusively breastfed
during the first 6 months of infancy have a higher risk of asthma and
allergy, according to a report from Australia.

Dr. Wendy H. Oddy, of the University of Western Australia, West Perth, and
colleagues examined the association between breastfeeding, asthma and
atopy -- a propensity to various allergies -- in 2195 children followed
from birth to 6 years.

The team defined asthma as doctor-diagnosed asthma and wheeze in the last
year, and they used skin prick tests to identify allergies among 1596 of
the children.
The researchers saw an association between less exclusive breastfeeding and
increased asthma and atopy. With each month of breastfeeding, there was a 4
percent reduction in the risk of asthma, they report in the American
Journal of Public Health.
The investigators call for additional studies to confirm these findings and
to understand how breastfeeding is protective.
In the meantime, they say, "Public health interventions to promote
exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months may reduce the prevalence and
subsequent morbidity of asthma and atopy in early childhood."
SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health, September 2004.

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