Relationship between breastfeeding and asthma prevalence in young children exposed to adverse childhood experiences

ABSTRACTObjective: To investigate if duration of supplemental breastfeeding is associated with a lower asthma risk and whether adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) early in life influence this relationship in children ages 3 to 5 years. Methods: Data were from the 2011–2012 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. Modified Poisson regression models were used to estimate incident risk ratios (IRR) for lifetime and current asthma in young children aged 3 to 5 years (n = 15,642). We tested for effect measure modification using stratified analyses. Results: Exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months or supplemental breastfeeding for children ≥12 months significantly reduced the risk of lifetime asthma prevalence compared to never breastfed children (IRR 0.64; 95% CI: 0.46–0.88, p = 0.007; and IRR 0.68; 95% CI: 0.47–0.99, p = 0.044, respectively), adjusted for covariates. In stratified analyses, breastfeeding reduced the risk of lifetime asthma for children w...