Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Role of Breastfeeding in Childhood Otitis Media

  • Otitis (D Skoner, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Allergy and Asthma Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent literature, both systematic reviews and recently published original studies not included within those reviews, on the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood otitis media (OM).

Recent Findings

There is clear evidence that breastfeeding is associated with a reduced risk of OM in childhood with sound biological plausibility to support that the association is likely causal. Any breastfeeding reduces OM risk in early childhood by 40–50 %. Systematic reviews also support a further reduced risk for continued breastfeeding. Recent studies have estimated burden of disease savings if breastfeeding within countries and globally approached WHO guidelines. Cost savings per year for reduced cases of OM by increasing ever and exclusive breastfeeding rates are estimated to be millions of pounds or dollars for UK and Mexico.

Summary

Breastfeeding reduces OM in children. The burden of disease and economic impact of increasing breastfeeding rates and duration would be substantial.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

  1. Monasta L, Ronfani L, Marchetti F, Montico M, Vecchi Brumatti L, Bavcar A, et al. Burden of disease caused by otitis media: systematic review and global estimates. PLoS One. 2012;7(4):e36226.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Gonzales R, Malone DC, Maselli JH, Sande MA. Excessive antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2001;33(6):757–62.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Teele DW, Klein JO, Rosner B. Epidemiology of otitis media during the first seven years of life in children in greater Boston: a prospective, cohort study. J Infect Dis. 1989;160(1):83–94.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Vergison A, Dagan R, Arguedas A, Bonhoeffer J, Cohen R, Dhooge I, et al. Otitis media and its consequences: beyond the earache. Lancet Infect Dis. 2010;10(3):195–203.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Le Saux N, Robinson JL, Canadian Paediatric Society. Management of acute otitis media in children six months of age and older. Paediatr Child Health. 2016;21(1):1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Coker TR, Chan LS, Newberry SJ, Limbos MA, Suttorp MJ, Shekelle PG, et al. Diagnosis, microbial epidemiology, and antibiotic treatment of acute otitis media in children: a systematic review. JAMA. 2010;304(19):2161–9.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Victora CG, Bahl R, Barros AJ, Franca GV, Horton S, Krasevec J, et al. Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. Lancet. 2016;387(10017):475–90. This article provides a recent very comprehensive assessment of what is known about the health effects of breastfeeding for mothers and infants.

  8. Pediatrics AAo. Breastfeeding and the use of human milk. Pediatrics. 2012;129(3):e827–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Hoppu U, Kalliomaki M, Laiho K, Isolauri E. Breast milk—immunomodulatory signals against allergic diseases. Allergy. 2001;56 Suppl 67:23–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Bowatte G, Tham R, Allen KJ, Tan DJ, Lau M, Dai X, et al. Breastfeeding and childhood acute otitis media: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Paediatr. 2015;104(467):85–95.

  11. Hornell A, Lagstrom H, Lande B, Thorsdottir I. Breastfeeding, introduction of other foods and effects on health: a systematic literature review for the 5th Nordic Nutrition Recommendations. Food Nutr Res. 2013;57.

  12. Ip S, Chung M, Raman G, Chew P, Magula N, DeVine D, et al. Breastfeeding and maternal and infant health outcomes in developed countries. Evid Rep Technol Assess. 2007;153:1–186.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Kramer MS, Kakuma R. Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012;8:CD003517.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Fisk CM, Crozier SR, Inskip HM, Godfrey KM, Cooper C, Roberts GC, et al. Breastfeeding and reported morbidity during infancy: findings from the Southampton Women’s Survey. Matern Child Nutr. 2011;7(1):61–70.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Duijts L, Jaddoe VW, Hofman A, Moll HA. Prolonged and exclusive breastfeeding reduces the risk of infectious diseases in infancy. Pediatrics. 2010;126(1):e18–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Salone LR, Vann Jr WF, Dee DL. Breastfeeding an overview of oral and general health benefits. J Am Dent Assoc. 2013;144(2):143–51.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Ajetunmobi OM, Whyte B, Chalmers J, Tappin DM, Wolfson L, Fleming M, et al. Breastfeeding is associated with reduced childhood hospitalization: evidence from a Scottish birth cohort (1997-2009). J Pediatr. 2015;166(3):620–U919.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  18. Jensen RG, Koch A, Homoe P, Bjerregaard P. Tobacco smoke increases the risk of otitis media among Greenlandic Inuit children while exposure to organochlorines remain insignificant. Environ Int. 2013;54:112–8.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Martines F, Salvago P, Ferrara S, Messina G, Mucia M, Plescia F, et al. Factors influencing the development of otitis media among Sicilian children affected by upper respiratory tract infections. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2016;82(2):215–22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Salah M, Abdel-Aziz M, Al-Farok A, Jebrini A. Recurrent acute otitis media in infants: analysis of risk factors. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2013;77(10):1665–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. de Steenhuijsen Piters WA, Sanders EA, Bogaert D. The role of the local microbial ecosystem in respiratory health and disease. Philos Trans R Soc Lond Ser B Biol Sci. 2015;370(1675).

  22. Goto K, Fukuda K, Senda A, Saito T, Kimura K, Glander KE, et al. Chemical characterization of oligosaccharides in the milk of six species of New and Old World monkeys. Glycoconj J. 2010;27(7-9):703–15.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. Bode L. Recent advances on structure, metabolism, and function of human milk oligosaccharides. J Nutr. 2006;136(8):2127–30. A very good introduction to human milk oligosaccharides and an insight into how they may relate to health and disease authored by international expert in HMOs.

  24. Oliveira D, Wilbey R, Grandison A, Roseiro L. Milk oligosaccharides: a review. Int J Dairy Technol. 2015;68(3):305–21.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Coppa GV, Pierani P, Zampini L, Carloni I, Carlucci A, Gabrielli O. Oligosaccharides in human milk during different phases of lactation. Acta Paediatr Suppl. 1999;88(430):89–94.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Biesbroek G, Bosch AA, Wang X, Keijser BJ, Veenhoven RH, Sanders EA, et al. The impact of breastfeeding on nasopharyngeal microbial communities in infants. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2014;190(3):298–308. An interesting article which shows convincing evidence of differing nasopharyngeal communities in breast fed infants and provides a mechanism for prorection from otitis media in breast fed infants.

  27. Pokhrel S, Quigley MA, Fox-Rushby J, McCormick F, Williams A, Trueman P, et al. Potential economic impacts from improving breastfeeding rates in the UK. Arch Dis Child. 2015;100(4):334–40.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. McIsaac KE, Moineddin R, Matheson FI. Breastfeeding as a means to prevent infant morbidity and mortality in Aboriginal Canadians: a population prevented fraction analysis. Can J Public Health. 2015;106(4):E217–E22.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Arantxa Colchero M, Contreras-Loya D, Lopez-Gatell H, Gonzalez de Cosio T. The costs of inadequate breastfeeding of infants in Mexico. Am J Clin Nutr. 2015;101(3):579–86.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Allergy and Lung Health Unit, Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

    Caroline J. Lodge, Gayan Bowatte, Melanie C. Matheson & Shyamali C. Dharmage

  2. Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia

    Caroline J. Lodge & Shyamali C. Dharmage

Authors
  1. Caroline J. Lodge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Gayan Bowatte
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Melanie C. Matheson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shyamali C. Dharmage
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Caroline J. Lodge.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Drs. Lodge, Bowatte, Matheson, and Dharmage declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Otitis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lodge, C.J., Bowatte, G., Matheson, M.C. et al. The Role of Breastfeeding in Childhood Otitis Media. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 16, 68 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0647-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0647-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation