The effect of breastfeeding on the risk of asthma in high-risk children: a case-control study in Shanghai, China

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidence shows that antibiotic use in pregnancy may increase the risk of childhood asthma but epidemiologic studies are still limited and findings are inconsistent. Meanwhile, exclusive and prolonged breastfeeding may prevent children from allergic diseases. We aimed to assess the association between prenatal antibiotic use and the risk of childhood asthma, and explore whether breastfeeding modifies the risk. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study in Shanghai, China, from June 2015 to January 2016. A total of 634 asthma cases and 864 controls aged 3–12 years were included. Multiple logistic regressions were used to estimate crude and adjusted odds ratios (aOR). RESULTS: The prevalence of antibiotic use in pregnancy in the cases and controls was 7.1 and 3.5%, respectively. A significant association between prenatal antibiotic use and childhood asthma was observed (aOR: 1.7, 95% CI: 1.0–2.9), particularly in boys (aOR: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.1–4.4) and children with family history of allergic disorders (aOR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.2–8.4). However, this association existed only in children who were not breastfed exclusively in the first six months of life (aOR 2.6, 95% CI 1.3–5.1) but not in children who were exclusively breastfed (aOR 0.9, 95% CI 0.4–2.1). Likewise, exclusive breastfeeding also decreased the association between antibiotic use in pregnancy and asthma in boys and in children with family histories of allergic diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic use in pregnancy was a risk factor for childhood asthma. However, this risk may be attenuated by exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of life, especially among high-risk children. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12884-018-1936-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.