Association between Breast Feeding and Development of Atopy

Abstract

Background: Childhood atopic diseases are becoming more prevalent over time, making it an issue to investigate. One of the possible associated factors that has been studied is breastfeeding, which remains a controversial subject. A number of studies show a protective role of breastfeeding against atopic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, and others. However, other research could not find a positive relationship between breastfeeding and some types of allergies. Accordingly, we set out to investigate the relationship between breastfeeding and the development of atopy in our study.

Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in the Maternity and Children Hospital (MCH) in Hail region, between November 2022 and February 2023, targeting mothers with at least one child over the age of one month in the paediatrics and obstetrics/gynaecological clinics’ waiting areas and admission wards.

Results: A sample of 423 children from Hail were studied in our research. Most of them were over twelve months old. Although most of the participants believed that breastfeeding reduces the incidence of atopic skin disease, the most prevalent type of feeding was formula feeding, followed by mixed feeding and exclusive breastfeeding. The study showed no significant effects of breastfeeding type on the development of allergies in children, as well as breastfeeding type and duration. However, there was a significant association between formula feeding and the development of allergic rhinitis, as it increases the incidence.

Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that no definitive link could be made between breastfeeding duration and the development of atopy or between breastfeeding type and the occurrence of atopy in children. However, the study shows that formula feeding is a significant risk factor for the development of allergic rhinitis.