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Bottle-feeding linked to increased risk for pyloric stenosis
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Babies who are bottle-fed may be at an increased risk for developing pyloric stenosis, according to study findings published online this week.
Camilla Krogh, MD, of the Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark, and colleagues used information from the Danish National Patient Register and reported on those infants who had pyloric stenosis during the first 4 months after birth. They used information from the register and compared that with data on infant-feeding practices for 70,148 singleton infants from a birth cohort.
The researchers said of the 65 infants who had surgery for pyloric stenosis, 29 were bottle-fed, translating to an overall hazard ratio of 4.62. This trend was observed among all infants who had been bottle-fed at one point.
“Our finding was based on data of high quality and with little chance that bias should influence the results. This makes our finding very robust,” Camila Krogh, MD, told Infectious Diseases in Children.
Pyloric stenosis tends to run in families and Krogh said the team’s earlier work on pyloric stenosis has shown that genetic factors are important. However, the current work shows that it is also important how babies are fed after they are born.
“Those bottle-fed had a 4.6-fold increased risk of developing pyloric stenosis compared to those exclusively breastfed. Whether the increased risk comes from formula milk or the method of feeding is still unknown,” she said. “Formula milk does differ from breast milk. However, infants who bottle fed also tend to take in milk more quickly and in larger volumes. Our observations add another benefit to the many advantages of breast feeding.”
Krogh added that the results of the study contribute with new insight into the etiology of pyloric stenosis and “brings us closer to solving the enigma of pyloric stenosis development.”
The researchers offered two possible explanations for their findings: “Either breast-feeding confers protection or bottle-feeding is itself the risk factor for pyloric stenosis responsible for the association.” Although the structure of their study prevented answering this question, the researchers concluded that their findings warranted further investigation.
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