Is exclusive breastfeeding for six-months protective against pediatric tuberculosis?

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flowchart of enrollment and exclusions

Table 1. Characteristics of children exposed to exclusive breastfeeding (N = 279)*

			Exclusive breastfeeding for six months
		Total	Yes (N = 200)	No (N = 79)
Variables		n (%)	n (%)	n (%)
Age (months)
	< 24	112 (40)	80 (40)	32 (41)
	24 to 59	167 (60)	120 (60)	47 (59)
Sex
	Male	149 (53)	103 (52)	46 (58)
	Female	130 (47)	97 (48)	33 (42)
Index case is the mother (N = 275)
	Yes	96 (35)	63 (32)	33 (42)
	No	179 (65)	133 (68)	46 (58)
Index case shares bed with children (N = 275)
	Yes	118 (43)	80 (41)	38 (48)
	No	157 (57)	116 (59)	41 (52)
Index case drinks (N = 274)
	Yes	171 (62)	126 (64)	45 (58)
	No	103 (38)	70 (36)	33 (42)
Index case smokes (N = 273)
	Yes	110 (40)	84 (43)	26 (33)
	No	163 (60)	111 (57)	52 (67)
SEI (N = 278)
	Median (IQR)	−0.05 (2.8)	−0.05 (2.3)	−0.13 (2.4)
TB diagnosed
	Yes	61 (22)	48 (24)	13 (16)
	No	218 (78)	152 (76)	66 (84)

*Unless otherwise noted.

Abbreviation: IQR = interquartile range, TB = tuberculosis, SEI = Socioeconomic Index.

Table 2. Associations between exclusive breastfeeding for six months and TB in children aged 6 to 59 months

Models‡	N	PR	CI 95%	p value	aPR	CI 95%	p value
All children	279	1.5	0.8–2.5	0.183	1.6**	0.9–2.7	0.111
Stratified by age
6 to 23 months of age	112	2.2	0.8–5.9	0.118	2.2**	0.8–5.7	0.109
24 to 59 months of age	167	1.1	0.6–2.2	0.722	1.2	0.6–2.5	0.540
Stratified by contact
Contact was mother	96	2.0	0.8–4.9	0.132	2.1	0.9–4.9	0.097
Contact was not mother	179	1.2	0.6–2.4	0.672	1.2**	0.6–2.4	0.640

‡Analyses were conducted using generalized linear binomial regression models, which adjusted for sex and socioeconomic index.

**These variables had missing data for one child.

Abbreviation: PR = Prevalence ratio; aPR = Adjusted prevalence ratio; CI = Confidence interval.