Breastfeeding associated with higher lung function in African American youths with asthma
Recommended Citation
Oh SS, Du R, Zeiger AM, McGarry ME, Hu D, Thakur N, Pino-Yanes M, Galanter JM, Eng C, Nishimura KK, Huntsman S, Farber HJ, Meade K, Avila P, Serebrisky D, Bibbins-Domingo K, Lenoir MA, Ford JG, Brigino-Buenaventura E, Rodriguez-Cintron W, Thyne SM, Sen S, Rodriguez-Santana JR, Williams K, Kumar R, Burchard EG. Breastfeeding associated with higher lung function in African American youths with asthma. J Asthma. 2017 Oct;54(8):856-865.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2017
Publication Title
The Journal of asthma : official journal of the Association for the Care of Asthma
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
In the United States, Puerto Ricans and African Americans have lower prevalence of breastfeeding and worse clinical outcomes for asthma compared with other racial/ethnic groups. We hypothesize that the history of breastfeeding is associated with increased forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) % predicted and reduced asthma exacerbations in Latino and African American youths with asthma.
METHODS:
As part of the Genes-environments & Admixture in Latino Americans (GALA II) Study and the Study of African Americans, asthma, Genes & Environments (SAGE II), we conducted case-only analyses in children and adolescents aged 8-21 years with asthma from four different racial/ethnic groups: African Americans (n = 426), Mexican Americans (n = 424), mixed/other Latinos (n = 255), and Puerto Ricans (n = 629). We investigated the association between any breastfeeding in infancy and FEV1% predicted using multivariable linear regression; Poisson regression was used to determine the association between breastfeeding and asthma exacerbations.
RESULTS:
Prevalence of breastfeeding was lower in African Americans (59.4%) and Puerto Ricans (54.9%) compared to Mexican Americans (76.2%) and mixed/other Latinos (66.9%; p < 0.001). After adjusting for covariates, breastfeeding was associated with a 3.58% point increase in FEV1% predicted (p = 0.01) and a 21% reduction in asthma exacerbations (p = 0.03) in African Americans only.
CONCLUSION:
Breastfeeding was associated with higher FEV1% predicted in asthma and reduced number of asthma exacerbations in African American youths, calling attention to continued support for breastfeeding.
Medical Subject Headings
African Americans; Asthma; Body Mass Index; Breast Feeding; Female; Forced Expiratory Volume; Hispanic Americans; Humans; Male; Socioeconomic Factors; United States
PubMed ID
27929698
Volume
54
Issue
8
First Page
856
Last Page
865
