Breast-Feeding Protects Children from Adverse Effects of Environmental Tobacco Smoke

Abstract

In a cross-sectional study on 433 schoolchildren (aged 6–9 years) from nine schools in Austria, we observed associations between housing factors like passive smoking and lung function as well as improved lung function in children who had been breast-fed. The latter findings urged the question whether protective effects of breast-feeding act on environmental stressors or if they act independently. Therefore the effect of passive smoking on lung function was stratified by breast-feeding. Detrimental effects of passive smoking were significant but restricted to the group of 53 children without breast-feeding. Breast feeding counteracts the effect of environmental stressors on the growing respiratory organs.

Breastfeeding is associated with reduced risk of multiple sclerosis in males, predominantly among HLA-DRB1*15:01 carriers

“…Interestingly, a protective effect of breastfeeding on respiratory infections among female but not male infants has been reported. 37 Breastfeeding may also protect children from adverse effects of environmental exposures, 38 some of which may have sex-specific effects on MS risk later in life.…”