Systematic review with meta-analysis: breastfeeding and the risk of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Breastfeeding is a modifiable factor that may influence development of inflammatory bowel diseases. However, literature on this has been inconsistent and not accounted for heterogeneity in populations and exposure.

Aim

To conduct a meta-analysis to examine the association between breastfeeding in infancy and risk of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods

A systematic search of Medline/PubMed and Embase was performed for full text, English-language literature through November 2016. Studies were included if they described breastfeeding in infancy in patients with CD or UC, and healthy controls. Data were pooled using a random effects model for analysis.

Results

A total of 35 studies were included in the final analysis, comprising 753

SUBMITTER: Xu L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5688338 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature