Breast-Feeding and Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract

The potential benefit of breast-feeding is complicated by transmission of food antigens in breast milk. Identifying and developing effective strategies to lessen food allergy factors in atopic dermatitis (AD) patients is desirable. This retrospective analysis of the evaluation of 106 consecutive infant AD patients evaluated over a 10-year period was undertaken to compare five groups of patients that materialized from the study. Group 1 (n = 30) were not breast-fed; Group 2 (n = 12) were breast-fed for up to 3 months; Group 3 (n = 17) were breast-fed from 3–6 months; Group 4 (n = 14) were breast-fed from 6–12 months; and Group 5 (n = 4) were breast-fed for longer than 12 months. These groups were compared with regard to several parameters, but the most important were severity of AD, development of positive skin tests for cow's milk, and asthma. These findings suggest a trend toward increased severity, increased asthma, and increased cow's milk sensitization, especially in infants fed breast milk for the first 6–12 months of age.