The Association of Breastfeeding With Childhood Asthma: A Case-Control Study From India

Background The role of breastfeeding in childhood asthma has long been controversial. The majority of research pertains to developed countries with scant literature available in a developing country like India, where a different asthma phenotype is prevalent. This study examined the association of breastfeeding duration and exclusiveness with childhood asthma and its severity, as measured by peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) in India. Methodology We conducted a matched case-control study in Pune, India. A total of 180 children with asthma (cases) and 180 without the disease (controls) were included. A standardized questionnaire recorded demographics and medical and breastfeeding history. PEFR readings were obtained from each child. Conditional logistic regression and linear regression were used to explore the association of breastfeeding with asthma and PEFR, respectively. Results The median duration of breastfeeding among cases was [5 (2.5-10)] months as compared to controls [9 (3.5-16.8)] months. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers was 60% (50% among cases and 69% among controls). Exclusive breastfeeding was associated with a 46% lower likelihood of having asthma with a probability (p-value) of 0.025 where the odds ratio (OR) was 1.85, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.08 to 3.16. Breastfeeding duration was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of having asthma (p = 0.001) (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.79-0.94). One-month increase in the duration of breastfeeding was associated with a 23% reduced risk of the disease. The odds of maternal asthma [21.4 (4.22-109.36)], paternal smoking [1.44 (0.22-0.86)], and maternal smoking [5.14 (1.78-14.80)] were higher among children with asthma as compared to children without asthma. The weight of the child and duration of breastfeeding were negatively associated with PEFR. Maternal asthmatic history, associated allergies, paternal smoking, and parents’ education were positively associated with PEFR for the overall sample. Conclusion Prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding was found to be a protective factor against the development of asthma. Promotion of breastfeeding and smoking cessation should be a priority in the control of childhood asthma. Further research should be conducted to explore the negative correlation between duration and frequency of breastfeeding and PEFR.