ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: to explore the relationships between breast feeding and diarrhea and to assess the effect of exclusive breast feeding (EBF) on reducing the risk of diarrhea in Qatar. METHODS: this is a cross sectional survey carried out at the Well baby clinics and Pediatric clinics in the 11 Primary Health Care Centers and Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, in Qatar. A multistage sampling design was used and a representative sample of 1500 Qatari infants and preschool children with an age range of 0-3 years and mothers agedbetween 18 to 47 years were surveyed during the period from October 2006 to September 2008 in Qatar. Out of the 1500 mothers, 1278 agreed to participate in this study, with a response rate of 85.2 percent. Questionnaires were administered to women who were attending Primary Health Care (PHC) Centers for child immunization. Data about the child gathered included date of birth, gender, birth order, consanguinity, socio-economic conditions, age of mother, level of education of mother, occupation, mode of breast feeding, sterilization of bottle and incident of diarrhea during the interview. Univariate statistical methods were performed for statistical analysis. RESULTS: of the 1278 infants studied, more than half (59.3 percent) were exclusively breastfed, and the mean duration was11.4 (SD=6.7). The risk for presenting diarrhea was higher in formula fed (48.7 percent) and partiallybreastfed children (37.3 percent) when compared to EBF(32.5 percent). CONCLUSION: EBF plays an important role in reducing the incidence and severity of infantile diarrhea.
OBJETIVOS: investigar a relação entre a amamentação e a diarréia e avaliar o efeito do aleitamento maternao exclusivo (AME) na redução do risco de diarréia noQatar. MÉTODOS: um estudo transversal realizado nos Well Baby Clinics and Pediatric Clinics dos 11 centros de atenção básica do Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, no Qatar. Um desenho amostral de múltiplos estágios foi empregado com uma amostra representativa de 1500 recémnascidos e crianças de idade pré-escolar catarianos entre outubro de 2006 esetembro de 2008 no Qatar. Entre as 1500 mães, 1278 aceitaram participar neste estudo, uma taxa de resposta de 85,2 por cento. Os questionários foram aplicados a mulheres atendidas pelos centros de atenção básica para imunização infantil. Dados colecionados sobre as crianças incluíram data de nascimento, gênero, ordem de nascimento, consanguinidade, condições socioeconômicas, idade maternal, escolaridade maternal, ocupação maternal, método de amamentação, esterilização dos biberões, e incidência de diarréia durante a entrevista. Métodos univariados e foram utilizados para realizar a análise estatística. RESULTADOS: dos 1278 recém-nascidos estudados, mais que metade (59.3 por cento) foram exclusivamente amamentados e a duração média foi de 11,4 (DP=6,7). O risco de apresentar a diarréia foi mais alto nas crianças aleitadas com fórmulas (48.7 por cento) e nas que foram parcialmente amamentadas (37.3 por cento) em comparação com a AME(32.5 por cento). CONCLUSÕES: o AME desempenha um papel importante na redução da incidência e da gravidade da diarréia infantil.
Subject(s)
Humans , Infant, Newborn , Infant , Child, Preschool , Child , Breast Feeding , Diarrhea, Infantile , Qatar , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
In developed communities, the effect of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) is encouraged since it has been found to be protective against infantile diarrhea. In a newly developing Qatar, modern water supply and sanitation facilities have become available to everyone during the last two decades. The objectives of the current study were to explore the relationships between breastfeeding and diarrhea and to assess the effect of EBF on the risk reduction of diarrhea in children aged 1-5 years. This is a cross-sectional survey conducted in the Well-Baby clinics and pediatric clinics in the 11 Primary Health Care (PHC) Centers and Hamad General Hospital, Hamad Medical Corporation, Qatar. A multistage sampling design was used, and a representative sample of 1500 Qatari infants and pre-school children in the age group of 1-5 years and mothers aged between 18 to 47 years were surveyed during the period from October 2006 to September 2007; 1,278 mothers agreed to participate in this study, with a response rate of 85.2%. The sociodemographic characteristics, feeding modes and diarrhea morbidity were collected from the parents of the children during the interview. Of the 1,278 infants studied, more than half (59.3%) were EBF, followed by those partially breastfed (28.3%), and finally the formula fed (12.4%). The duration of EBF was 11.4 +/- 6.7 months (mean +/- SD) and the duration of partial breastfeeding with bottled milk was 9.2 +/- 4.1 months (mean +/- SD), and the difference was statistically significant (p<0.0010). When compared to the EBF infants, the risk of diarrhea was higher and statistically significant in both the partially breastfed (48.7% vs 32.5%) and in the non-EBF (37.3% vs 32.5%, p<0.001). Upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), short duration of breastfeeding, level of maternal education, and sterilization of bottles were considered as predictors. These results indicate that in Qatar, breastfeeding plays an important role in reducing the incidence and severity of infantile diarrhea. This observation is particularly important given the growing concern that, as an unwanted effect of 'modernization', breastfeeding is on the decline in Qatar and comparable populations elsewhere.
