Is exclusive breastfeeding for six-months protective against pediatric tuberculosis?

Is exclusive breastfeeding for six-months protective against pediatric tuberculosis? Glob Health Action. 2021 Jan 01;14(1):1861922 Authors: Flores JA, Coit J, Mendoza M, Leon SR, Konda K, Lecca L, Franke MF Abstract Experts recommend exclusive breastfeeding from birth to six months because it protects against deadly childhood illness, including respiratory tract infections and diarrhea. We hypothesized that exclusive breastfeeding would decrease the risk of active tuberculosis (TB) in children. We analyzed cross-sectional data from 279 children in Lima, Peru aged 6 to 59 months with TB symptoms and a close adult contact with TB. Mothers self-reported breastfeeding, and children were evaluated for TB per national guidelines. To quantify the association between exclusive breastfeeding and TB, we estimated prevalence ratios using a generalized linear model with a log link, binomial distribution, and robust variance. Twenty-two percent of children were diagnosed with TB and 72% were exclusively breastfed for six months. We found no evidence that six months of exclusive breastfeeding was associated with TB disease in either bivariate analyses (prevalence ratio [PR] = 1.5; 95%CI = 0.8-2.5) or multivariable analyses adjusting for sex and socioeconomic status (adjusted PR = 1.6; 95%[CI] = 0.9-2.7). In post hoc analyses among children whose close TB contact was their mother, we found evidence of a weak positive association between br...
Source: Global Health Action - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: Glob Health Action Source Type: research