Bottle-Feeding Linked to Increased Pyloric Stenosis Risk

TUESDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Bottle-fed infants have a significantly increased risk of developing pyloric stenosis (PS) in the first few months after birth, compared with infants who are not bottle-fed, according to a study published online Sept. 3 in Pediatrics.

Camilla Krogh, M.D., from the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues examined the effect of bottle-feeding on PS risk during the first four months after birth using data on infants and feeding practices for 70,148 singleton infants from the Danish National Birth Cohort. Data about PS surgery were obtained from the Danish National Patient Register.

The researchers found that 65 infants had surgery for PS, 29 of whom were bottle-fed before PS diagnosis. For bottle-fed infants compared with non-bottle-fed infants, the overall hazard ratio (HR) for PS was 4.62. The increases in risk were similar for infants who were both breastfed and bottle-fed (HR, 3.36); formerly breastfed (HR, 5.38); and never breastfed (HR, 6.32) (P = 0.76). Even after 30 days since first exposure to bottle-feeding, the increased risk of PS among bottle-fed infants persisted. The risk did not vary with age at first exposure to bottle-feeding.

"The result adds to the evidence supporting the advantage of exclusive breastfeeding in the first months after birth," the authors conclude.

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