Journal article

Breastfeeding and childhood acute otitis media: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Acta paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992) | Published : 2015

Open access

Abstract

©2015 The Authors. Acta Paediatrica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation Acta Paediatrica. AIM: To synthesise the evidence on the association between duration and exclusivity of breastfeeding and the risk of acute otitis media (AOM). METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis following searching of PubMed, CINAHL and EMBASE electronic databases. RESULTS: Twenty-four studies, all from the USA or Europe, met the inclusion criteria. In the pooled analyses, any form of breastfeeding was found to be protective for AOM in the first 2 years of life. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months was associated with the greatest protection (OR 0.57 95% CI 0.44, 0.75), follo..

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Funding Acknowledgements

None of the authors has any conflict of interests to declare. Funding for this research was provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Preparation of the manuscript was assisted by funding from the WHO which had no part in determining the outcomes or the presentation of findings.