Associations between breastfeeding rates and infant disease: A survey of 2338 Czech children

Impact of Selected Behavioral and Environmental Factors on the Antibiotic Therapy in Polish Children With Upper Respiratory Tract Infections

Antibiotic therapy must be carried out consistently and according to the guidelines. Viruses are the dominant cause of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) in children, as has been shown in many previous studies. Unnecessary antibiotic therapy should be avoided so that it does not affect patients' health and lead to the development of resistant bacterial strains. Here we report a national survey conducted in a group of 4,389 children to assess the impact of selected behavioral and environmental factors on antibiotic therapy in patients with URTIs. We found that selected environmental factors influenced the type of treatment. The place of residence, having siblings, an absence of vaccinations, the presence of allergies, and attendance at educational institutions were conducive to antibiotic therapy. These factors also influenced the frequency of hospitalization of children and their absence from nurseries, kindergartens, and schools, as well as the absence of their guardians from work.

Breastfeeding Status and Duration and Infections, Hospitalizations for Infections, and Antibiotic Use in the First Two Years of Life in the ELFE Cohort

In low- and middle-income countries, the protective effect of breastfeeding against infections is well established, but in high-income countries, the effect could be weakened by higher hygienic conditions. We aimed to examine the association between breastfeeding and infections in the first 2 years of life, in a high-income country with relatively short breastfeeding duration. Among 10,349 young children from the nationwide Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l’Enfance (ELFE) birth cohort, breastfeeding and parent-reported hospitalizations, bronchiolitis and otitis events, and antibiotic use were prospectively collected up to 2 years. Never-breastfed infants were used as reference group. Any breastfeeding for <3 months was associated with higher risks of hospitalizations from gastrointestinal infections or fever. Predominant breastfeeding for <1 month was associated with higher risk of a single hospital admission while predominant breastfeeding for ≥3 months was associated with a lower risk of long duration (≥4 nights) of hospitalization. Ever breastfeeding was associated with lower risk of antibiotic use. This study confirmed the well-known associations between breastfeeding and hospitalizations but also highlighted a strong inverse association between breastfeeding and antibiotic use. Although we cannot infer causality from this observational study, this finding is worth highlighting in a context of rising concern regarding antibiotic resistance.