Breast-feeding may reduce risk for childhood pet allergies

HOUSTON — Breast-feeding during infancy may decrease the risk for pet allergies in early childhood, according to data presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting.

“The mechanism linking breast-feeding to childhood allergic outcomes is not well understood,” study researcher Alexandra R. Sitarik, MS, of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, and colleagues wrote. “The infant gut microbiome may play an important role in this association, as breast-feeding influences microbiome composition and function, features of which directly impact immune response.”

To determine associations between breast-feeding and allergic reactions to pets, researchers assessed 130 infant stool samples collected during the first 6 months of life. Allergic-like reactions to pets at age 4 years were determined by parental reporting of coughing, wheezing, tightness, shortness of breath, runny nose, sneezing or itchy eyes around pets.

Infants who breast-fed at age 1 month had a decreased risk for an allergic-like reaction to pets (P = .028).

Breast-feeding (P < .001) and allergic-like reactions to pets (P = .023) were significantly associated with variation of gut microbiome composition.

There were 109 operational taxonomic units significantly associated with breast-feeding and allergic-like reactions to pets. Of these, 71% were negatively associated with breast-feeding but positively associated with allergic-like reactions to pets.

Christine Cole Johnson

Lachnospiraceae were the most common family of bacteria suppressed by breast-feeding (66%).

“Environmental factors and characteristics related to behavior affect the ecology of the various population of bacteria in a child’s gut,” study researcher Christine Cole Johnson, MPH, PhD, FAAAAI, of Henry Ford Health System, told Infectious Diseases in Children. “This is the first evidence in a fairly large, diverse, population-based cohort that the environment affects an infant’s gut bacteria and as a result, affects allergic reactions to pets.” – by Amanda Oldt

Reference:

Sitarik AR, et al. Abstract 504. Presented at: the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Annual Meeting; Feb. 20-24, 2015; Houston.

Disclosure: The study was funded by the NIH. The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.