IS THE CRYING BEHAVIOUR IN INFANTS UP TO THE AGE OF 3 MONTHS INFLUENCED BY THE TYPE OF EARLY NUTRITION?

IS THE CRYING BEHAVIOUR IN INFANTS UP TO THE AGE OF 3 MONTHS

INFLUENCED BY THE TYPE OF EARLY NUTRITION?

Sonia Schiess

, Doris Oberle

, Ilse Broekaert

, Anna Reith

, Sabine Verwied-Jorky

, Berthold Koletzko

1

Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital, University of Munich, Germany,

Children´s Hospital, Klinikum Nürnberg-Süd, Nürnberg, Germany

Introduction: Colic is a frequent problem for parents and paediatricians.

Objective of this study is to investigate whether the prevalence of colic is influenced by the type of early nutrition in children up to the age of 3 months.

The study is embedded in the EU Childhood Obesity Programme, a double blind randomised clinical trial with two parallel study groups of formula-fed infants and a control group of breastfed children (www.childhood-obesity.org).

Method: After informed consent was obtained, parents and their healthy infants were invited to join the study. Criteria for inclusion were: breast-fed (BF)= >90

% of intake as human milk and formula-fed infants (FF)= 100 % formula fed before the end of the first month. Study formula was delivered to the parents.

Recruitment was performed from October 2002 to October 2003 in Munich and Nürnberg, Germany. Information about socioeconomic factors, pregnancy and delivery, medical history of mother and child were collected and standardised anthropometric measures were performed. At the end of the 1

, 2

and 3

month self-administered questionnaires were completed by parents. These included food records, a questionnaire on infantile behaviour and in the 2

and 3

month additionally the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale. Diagnosis of colic was based on the Wessel criteria (crying and/or fussing for more than 3 hours a day, more than 3 days per week, and more than 3 weeks long).

After the 3

month a questionnaire on reasons why the mother decided to breast-fed or formula-fed her child was included.

Results: In the 1

month 143 infants (66 BF, 77 FF) were enrolled, 125 (66BF, 59 FF) were followed in the 2

month and 111 (63 BF, 48 FF) in the 3

month , respectively. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of colic in BF- versus FF-infants. At the end of the 1

month was 12.1% in BF and 12.0%

in FF, at the end of the 2

month 4.7% and 12.5% and at the end of the 3

month 0% and 4.3%, respectively. Total BF- and FF- infants did not differ in duration of crying per day.

177

178 Sonia Schiess et al.

Parents of BF-infants were slightly older, had a higher educational level and socioeconomic status and smoked less. The social status seems not to correlate with prevalence of colic in any of the first 3 months of life. We found no relation between postnatal depression and the type of milk fed (BF versus FF) nor with the prevalence of colic.

The main reasons why the mothers decided to breastfed her child were: breast milk is the ‘best milk’ for the child, it is the ´most natural infant nutrition’, and it may prevent allergic diseases. Main reasons for FF were that the mother can better control the amount of milk given to the baby, that formula milk provides better satiety, and that the father can also feed the infant.

Conclusions: The results suggest that the prevalence of colic up to the age of 3 months is not influenced by the type of infant nutrition (BF vs. FF).

Key words: EU Childhood Obesity Programme - infant crying - infant nutrition

prevalence colic – Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EDPS)- reasons to

breast-fed or formula-fed