Use of infant formula in the ELFE study: The association with social and health‐related factors

• Published in: Maternal and child nutrition 2018-01, Vol.14 (1), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Lauzon‐Guillain, Blandine, Davisse‐Paturet, Camille, Lioret, Sandrine, Ksiazek, Eléa, Bois, Corinne, Dufourg, Marie‐Noëlle, Bournez, Marie, Nicklaus, Sophie, Wagner, Sandra, Charles, Marie Aline
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; birth cohort; Breast Feeding - ethnology; Child Development; Cohort Studies; Educational Status; Family Characteristics; Feeding Methods; Female; Food Intolerance - diet therapy; formula milk; France; health‐related factors; Humans; infancy; Infant Formula - adverse effects; Infant Formula - chemistry; Infant Formula - microbiology; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - ethnology; Infant, Newborn; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Nutrition Surveys; Original; Prebiotics - administration & dosage; Probiotics - chemistry; Probiotics - therapeutic use; Prospective Studies; Protein Hydrolysates - chemistry; Protein Hydrolysates - therapeutic use; sociodemographic factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Viscosity; Women, Working
• ISSN: 1740-8695; 1740-8709; 1740-8709
• DOI: 10.1111/mcn.12477

Breastfeeding is recommended until 6 months of age, but a wide range of infant formula is available for nonbreastfed or partially breastfed infants. Our aim was to describe infant formula selection and to examine social‐ and health‐related factors associated with this selection. Analyses were based on 13,291 infants from the French national birth cohort Etude Longitudinale Française depuis l'Enfance. Infant diet was assessed at Month 2 by phone interview and monthly from Months 3 to 10 via internet/paper questionnaires. Infant formulas were categorized in 6 groups: extensively or partially hydrolysed, regular with or without prebiotics/probiotics, and thickened with or without prebiotics/probiotics. Associations between type of infant formula used at 2 months and family or infant characteristics were assessed by multinomial logistic regressions. At Month 2, 58.1% of formula‐fed infants were fed with formula enriched in prebiotics/probiotics, 31.5% with thickened formula, and 1.4% with extensively hydrolysed formula. The proportion of formula‐fed infants increased regularly, but the type of infant formula used was fairly stable between 2 and 10 months. At Month 2, extensively hydrolysed formulas were more likely to be used in infants with diarrhoea or regurgitation problems. Partially hydrolysed formulas were more often used in families with high income, with a history of allergy, or with infants with regurgitation issues. Thickened formulas were used more with boys, preterm infants, infants with regurgitation issues, or in cases of early maternal return to work. The main factors related to the selection of infant formula were family and infant health‐related ones.