BreastfeedingA domestic big data study confirmed for the first time that children who have been breastfed since birth have a lower risk of developing ‘Kawasaki disease’.
A joint research team led by Professor Yong-Joo Kim and Jae-Yun Na of the Department of Pediatrics at Hanyang University Hospital and Professor Yong-Il Cho of the Department of Emergency Medicine analyzed the big data (Infant Health Checkup and National Health Insurance Corporation) of 191438 infants born between 2008 and 2014. 11 that this association was observed.
Kawasaki disease is an acute febrile vasculitis that is relatively common in children under 5 years of age in East Asia including Korea. It is accompanied by high fever for more than 5 days, hyperemia of the conjunctiva on both sides, redness and cracks of the lips, erythema and swelling of the hands and feet, and a skin rash. If left untreated, coronary artery complications can occur in about 20% of cases.
Recently, the symptoms of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) that appear in children after infection with COVID-19 are similar to Kawasaki disease, attracting attention.
It is known that Kawasaki disease is caused by a combination of genetics, immunological causes, and infection, but the exact mechanism is not yet known.
The research team divided the infants into three groups: ▲ breastfeeding (41.6%) ▲ formula feeding (38.1%) ▲ breastfeeding + formula feeding (20.3%) and analyzed the incidence of Kawasaki disease by one year of life.
As a result, the risk of developing Kawasaki disease in children who were only breastfed up to 12 months of age was 16% lower than that of infants fed only formula during the same period. A 14% reduction in risk was observed in the group of children fed both breast milk and formula under the same comparative conditions.
The research team explained that this effect of breastfeeding on Kawasaki disease continued up to the second year of life, but there was no apparent effect at the third year of life.
Experts liken breast milk to ‘the best gift you can give your baby.’
As it is rich in immune components (immunoglobulin), it helps babies with weak immunity to fight well against bacteria and viruses, as well as vitamins A and DHA in colostrum that affect brain cell development. In addition, several studies have confirmed its effectiveness in preventing obesity, breast cancer, and depression.
Professor Kim Yong-ju and Na Jae-yoon said, “This is the first big data study to prove that breastfeeding reduces the incidence of Kawasaki disease compared to formula feeding. It appears to be visible,” he said.
The results of this study were published in the latest issue of Frontiers in Pediatrics.
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