The Effects of Breastfeeding Duration on the Frequency of Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Advancing Years of Life

Background-Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the antibiotic use rates, breastfeeding duration in children aged 24-72 months and the frequency of upper respiratory tract infections in the advancing years of life. Method: It was interviewed through face to face survey method with the parents of 283 children, who applied to Istanbul Province Okmeydani Training-Research Hospital and BingA¶l-Adakli District Integrated Hospital between the dates of May and July 2014. Results: It was determined that children of highly educated mothers had fewer infections and were breastfed for a longer time. The annual numbers of infections had by the children evaluated under this study and the boxes of antibiotics used are respectively 4,6+2,4 and 3,0+1,8 in average. Children who had 8 times or more infections annually were accepted as the ones frequently having infections, and two groups were created. The average breastfeeding duration in frequent infections was 10.9+8.8 months, while it was 15.8+7.0 months for children that had infections occasionally (p<0,005). The possibility of having infection was increasing 17 times when mother and father were both smokers (OR: 17,2; p<0,0001). Conclusion: It was determined that long-term breastfed children had fewer infections in the advancing years of their lives; mother's education level affected the breastfeeding duration and the incidence of infections, and children with smoker parents had more infections. Keywords: Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, Incidence of Infection, Breastfeeding, Children, Passive Smoking