People with ankylosing spondylitis less likely to have been breast-fed

Adults with a form of spine arthritis called ankylosing spondylitis may be less likely to have been breast-fed, according to a study in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
Experts studied 203 people (average age 45 years) with ankylosing spondylitis and compared them to their siblings (293 people) and 280 other healthy people.

A total of 119 people across all groups were breast-fed as infants for at least 48 hours. The average duration of breast-feeding was nine weeks for both groups.

Analysis showed that 57% of people with ankylosing spondylitis were breast-fed compared to 72% of healthy siblings. The average age of onset of ankylosing spondylitis was 30 years, which was not associated with breast-feeding.

Of 38 children who were only fed with bottles, 40% developed ankylosing spondylitis. Of 18 families with mixed feeding via bottle and breast, nine people developed ankylosing spondylitis and had not been breast-fed.

“Our study suggests a breastfeeding-induced protective effect on the occurrence of ankylosing spondylitis,” the researchers conclude.

Click here to read the original research.

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Image credit: Jens Bergander