To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Breastfed Infants Have Lower Incidence Of Illness Than Formula-Fed Children URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/FD9A2.htm Doctor's Guide May 13, 1999
TUSCON, AZ -- May 13, 1999 -- Babies fed infant formula are more likely to need doctor visits and prescription drugs than babies who are breastfed, according to a study by The University of Arizona department of pediatrics, which was published in the April issue of the Journal of the Ambulatory Pediatric Society. Thomas Ball, M.D., MPH, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, and Anne Wright, Ph.D., research professor, led the study, which was designed to determine the excess cost of health care services among babies who are formula-fed. "These findings are significant because they quantify the cost of not breastfeeding," Dr. Wright said. "Our work at The University of Arizona, as well as that of other researchers, has shown that breastfed infants have lower incidence of illness. This may be the first to attach a price tag to not breastfeeding." Researchers analysed data from more than 1,500 healthy newborns from the Tucson Children's Respiratory Study at the UA and the Dundee Community Study from Scotland. The study focused on three illnesses common to babies: otitis media (ear infections), lower respiratory infections and diarrhoeal illnesses. Drs. Ball and Wright gathered information about doctor visits, prescription drug use and hospitalisation for these three illnesses among this group of newborns. When they compared 1,000 never-breastfed babies to 1,000 babies who had been exclusively breastfed for three or more months, they found 2,033 excess office visits, 212 excess days of hospitalisation and 609 excess prescriptions for these three illnesses. Researchers estimate the additional health care costs of exclusive formula feeding between $331 US and $475 US per infant in the first year of life. "We know that managed health care plans make medical decisions based on cost and health outcomes," Dr. Ball said. "We hope this study will convince health plans across the country to promote breastfeeding the way they promote smoking cessation, exercise and low-fat diets. It's clear that in this period of cost-containment in health care, encouraging breastfeeding improves infant health and the bottom line." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.