Breastfeeding and Infant Eczema in the First Year of Life in the KOALA Birth Cohort Study: A Risk Period–Specific Analysis

Abstract

OBJECTIVE. We studied the association between breastfeeding and eczema, taking into account the possible influence of reverse causation, with risk period–specific analyses. METHODS. Information on breastfeeding, determinants, and outcomes at 1 year of age was collected with repeated questionnaires for 2405 mother-infant pairs participating in the KOALA (Child, Parent and Health: Lifestyle and Genetic Constitution [in Dutch]) birth cohort study. By using multivariate logistic regression analysis, we compared an overall analysis with risk period–specific analyses. RESULTS. By the age of 1 year, 535 infants (22.2%) had developed eczema. In an overall analysis, we found a weak nonsignificant trend toward a reduced risk of eczema in the first year of life with increasing duration of breastfeeding (lowest risk for those breastfed for ≥7 months versus never breastfed). In the risk period–specific analysis (confined to infants “at risk” for eczema onset after 3 months of age), no indication for reverse causation was found (results were not very different, compared with the overall analysis). Infants who were breastfed from birth on had a slightly (although not statistically significantly) increased risk for eczema in the first 3 months of life, compared with infants who were formula fed from birth on. CONCLUSIONS. Our results indicated that no strong effect of breastfeeding on eczema in the first year of life was present. This conclusion was strengthened by risk period–specific analysis, which made the influence of reverse causation unlikely.