Abstract

Background: Although thousands of infants under the age of 12 months die each year from pneumonia in Latin America, little is known regarding the true occurrence of pneumonia, wheezing and other related respiratory illnesses in this age group. Methods and results: In order to describe the prevalence and risk factors for radiologically confirmed pneumonia during the first year of life, a birth-cohort (n = 188) of infants born in a low-income area in Santiago, Chile was followed up monthly. Results: The prevalence of pneumonia during the first year of life was 13.3 % and there were no fatal events. Exclusive breastfeeding during the first 4 months of life was more prevalent in the non pneumonia group; conversely, wheezing episodes during 0-3 and 3-6 months of age, and hospitalization due to lower respiratory infection during 3-6 and 9-12 months of age were more prevalent in the pneumonia group. After a logistic multivariate analysis, the only risk factor that remained related with pneumonia was wheezing during the first 3 months of life (adjusted OR: 7.7, 95 CI: 1.32-44.92, p = 0.024); while breastfeeding during the first 4 months was an independent protective factor for pneumonia (adjusted OR: 0.11, 95 CI: 0.03-0.44, p = 0.002). Conclusion: The significant protective effect of exclusive breast feeding against pneumonia in this cohort and the evident role of recurrent wheezing as risk factor for pneumonia during the first year of life support the implementation or reinforcement of public policies encouraging exclusive breastfeeding and an adequate management of wheezing since the first months of life.