Early infant feeding and allergic respiratory diseases in Ibb city, Yemen

BACKGROUND: Allergic respiratory diseases (ARD) are a highly prevalent health problem affecting infants and children in Yemen. Early infant feeding predisposition to the development of ARD has been a controversial question. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between early feeding before 6 months of age and the development of ARD among children attending Childhood and Maternity Public Hospital (CMPH), Ibb, Yemen Republic. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study population included 151 child patients attending the pediatric clinic at CMPH. Upon clinical and laboratory examinations, 72 out of 151 patients had ARD, while the other 79 had diseases other than ARD; all of them were used in risk assessment. Fifteen blood samples from healthy volunteers were used in laboratory investigations as a control. Complete blood count and IgE level were investigated for all participants. Children's parents were requested to give an informed consent and fill questionnaire about demography and history details. RESULTS: Early infant feeding was a significant risk factor for the development of ARD with an odds ratio (OR) of 6.8 and 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.0 to 15.3. Artificial milk particularly was risk factor with an OR of 6.1 and 95% confidence interval 2.7 to 13.5. Artificial milk exhibited more wheezing and asthma attack than others (OR 4.3, 95% CI 1.9 to 9.4 and OR 7.6, 95% CI 3.5 to 16.3, respectively). The risk of wheezing and asthma attack also increase with early feeding generally (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.3 to 7.2 and OR 4.8, 95% CI 2.2 to 8.1, respectively). The patients had a higher sensitization markers than the control, such as eosinophil count and total serum IgE. The highest levels of IgE ever reported existed among early fed patients with artificial milk. CONCLUSIONS: Early infant feeding, particularly with artificial milk, is a risk factor predisposing infants to the development of allergic respiratory disease presented with more clinical features of wheezing and asthma attack.