Research in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other developed countries, among predominantly middle - class populations, provides strong evidence that human milk feeding decreases the incidence and / or
severity of diarrhea,1 - 5 lower respiratory infection,6 - 9 otitis media,3,10 - 14bacteremia, 15,16 bacterial meningitis, 15,17 botulism, 18 urinary tract infection, 19 and necrotizing enterocolitis.20, 21 There are a number
of studies that show a possible protective effect
of human milk feeding against sudden infant death syndrome,22 - 24insulin - dependent diabetes mellitus,25 - 27 Crohn's
disease, 28,29 ulcerative colitis, 29 lymphoma, 30,31
allergic diseases,32 - 34 and other chronic digestive diseases.35 - 37 Breastfeeding has also been related to possible enhancement
of cognitive development.38, 39
«Our findings in two independent populations that
allergic disease is associated with greater
severity of COPD suggest that treatment
of active
allergic disease or avoidance
of allergy triggers may help improve respiratory symptoms in these patients, although causality could not be determined in our cross-sectional study,» said Dr. Hansel.