IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i21p4181-d281433.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Protective Effect of Breastfeeding on the Adverse Health Effects Induced by Air Pollution: Current Evidence and Possible Mechanisms

Author

Listed:
  • Monika A. Zielinska

    (Department of Human Nutrition, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, 159C Nowoursynowska Street, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland)

  • Jadwiga Hamulka

    (Department of Human Nutrition, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences—SGGW, 159C Nowoursynowska Street, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland)

Abstract

Air pollution is a major social, economic, and health problem around the world. Children are particularly susceptible to the negative effects of air pollution due to their immaturity and excessive growth and development. The aims of this narrative review were to: (1) summarize evidence about the protective effects of breastfeeding on the adverse health effects of air pollution exposure, (2) define and describe the potential mechanisms underlying the protective effects of breastfeeding, and (3) examine the potential effects of air pollution on breastmilk composition and lactation. A literature search was conducted using electronic databases. Existing evidence suggests that breastfeeding has a protective effect on adverse outcomes of indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure in respiratory (infections, lung function, asthma symptoms) and immune (allergic, nervous and cardiovascular) systems, as well as under-five mortality in both developing and developed countries. However, some studies reported no protective effect of breastfeeding or even negative effects of breastfeeding for under-five mortality. Several possible mechanisms of the breastfeeding protective effect were proposed, including the beneficial influence of breastfeeding on immune, respiratory, and nervous systems, which are related to the immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective properties of breastmilk. Breastmilk components responsible for its protective effect against air pollutants exposure may be long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC PUFA), antioxidant vitamins, carotenoids, flavonoids, immunoglobins, and cytokines, some of which have concentrations that are diet-dependent. However, maternal exposure to air pollution is related to increased breastmilk concentrations of pollutants (e.g., Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) or heavy metals in particulate matter (PM)). Nonetheless, environmental studies have confirmed that breastmilk’s protective effects outweigh its potential health risk to the infant. Mothers should be encouraged and supported to breastfeed their infants due to its unique health benefits, as well as its limited ecological footprint, which is associated with decreased waste production and the emission of pollutants.

Suggested Citation

  • Monika A. Zielinska & Jadwiga Hamulka, 2019. "Protective Effect of Breastfeeding on the Adverse Health Effects Induced by Air Pollution: Current Evidence and Possible Mechanisms," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-29, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:21:p:4181-:d:281433
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/21/4181/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/21/4181/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Simone Ohlwein & Ron Kappeler & Meltem Kutlar Joss & Nino Künzli & Barbara Hoffmann, 2019. "Health effects of ultrafine particles: a systematic literature review update of epidemiological evidence," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(4), pages 547-559, May.
    2. Neil J. Hime & Guy B. Marks & Christine T. Cowie, 2018. "A Comparison of the Health Effects of Ambient Particulate Matter Air Pollution from Five Emission Sources," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-24, June.
    3. Monika A. Zielinska & Jadwiga Hamulka & Iwona Grabowicz-Chądrzyńska & Joanna Bryś & Aleksandra Wesolowska, 2019. "Association between Breastmilk LC PUFA, Carotenoids and Psychomotor Development of Exclusively Breastfed Infants," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-18, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Thi Thuy Duong Doan & Colin Binns & Ngoc Minh Pham & Yun Zhao & Thi Phuong Hoa Dinh & Thi Thu Ha Bui & Trung Chuyen Tran & Xuan Hoai Nguyen & Roslyn Giglia & Fenglian Xu & Andy Lee, 2020. "Improving Breastfeeding by Empowering Mothers in Vietnam: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Mobile App," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-17, July.
    2. Andres Fontalba-Navas & Eva Zafra Aparici & Maria Clara de Moraes Prata-Gaspar & Esther Herrera-Espejo & Miguel Company-Morales & Cristina Larrea-Killinger, 2020. "Motivating Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women in Spain to Avoid Persistent Toxic Substances in Their Diet," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-13, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Roman Vasilevich & Mariya Vasilevich & Evgeny Lodygin & Evgeny Abakumov, 2023. "Geochemical Characteristics of the Vertical Distribution of Heavy Metals in the Hummocky Peatlands of the Cryolithozone," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-20, February.
    2. Yuan Liu & Xun He & Wanzhang Wang & Chenhui Zhu & Ruibo Jian & Jinfan Chen, 2022. "Agri-Environment Atmospheric Real-Time Monitoring Technology Based on Drone and Light Scattering," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-20, November.
    3. Greta Gerlach & Markus Braun & Janis Dröge & David A. Groneberg, 2022. "Do Budget Cigarettes Emit More Particles? An Aerosol Spectrometric Comparison of Particulate Matter Concentrations between Private-Label Cigarettes and More Expensive Brand-Name Cigarettes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-11, May.
    4. Dusan Jandacka & Matej Brna & Daniela Durcanska & Matus Kovac, 2023. "Characterization of Road Dust, PM x and Aerosol in a Shopping–Recreational Urban Area: Physicochemical Properties, Concentration, Distribution and Sources Estimation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-18, August.
    5. Katherine L Thayer & Kevin Lane & Matthew C Simon & Doug Brugge & Christina H Fuller, 2022. "An exploratory analysis of sociodemographic characteristics with ultrafine particle concentrations in Boston, MA," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(3), pages 1-12, March.
    6. Monika A. Zielinska-Pukos & Joanna Bryś & Natalia Kucharz & Agnieszka Chrobak & Aleksandra Wesolowska & Iwona Grabowicz-Chądrzyńska & Jadwiga Hamulka, 2022. "Factors Influencing Cortisol Concentrations in Breastmilk and Its Associations with Breastmilk Composition and Infant Development in the First Six Months of Lactation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-16, November.
    7. Fabrizio Minichilli & Francesca Gorini & Giovanni De Filippis & Elisa Bustaffa & Anna Maria Raho & Anna Melcarne & Fabrizio Quarta & Giuseppe Maggiore & Adele Idolo & Francesca Serio & Tiziana Grassi , 2022. "Risk Factors for Lung Cancer in the Province of Lecce: Results from the PROTOS Case–Control Study in Salento (Southern Italy)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-22, July.
    8. Enrico Pisoni & Philippe Thunis & Alexander De Meij & Bertrand Bessagnet, 2022. "Assessing the Impact of Local Policies on PM2.5 Concentration Levels: Application to 10 European Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-14, May.
    9. Agata Jędrzejuk & Filip Chyliński & Beata Fornal-Pieniak, 2024. "Festuca ovina L. As a Monitor Plant Species of Traffic Air Along the Highway in of the City of Warsaw (Poland)," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-16, October.
    10. Vesna Viher Hrženjak & Andreja Kukec & Ivan Eržen & Dalibor Stanimirović, 2020. "Effects of Ultrafine Particles in Ambient Air on Primary Health Care Consultations for Diabetes in Children and Elderly Population in Ljubljana, Slovenia: A 5-Year Time-Trend Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    11. Gyeyoung Choi & Yujeong Kim & Gyeongseon Shin & SeungJin Bae, 2022. "Projecting Lifetime Health Outcomes and Costs Associated with the Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposure among Adult Women in Korea," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-14, February.
    12. Nan Zhang & Chunmei Geng & Jia Xu & Liwen Zhang & Penghui Li & Jinbao Han & Shuang Gao & Xinhua Wang & Wen Yang & Zhipeng Bai & Wenge Zhang & Bin Han, 2022. "Characteristics, Source Contributions, and Source-Specific Health Risks of PM 2.5 -Bound Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Senior Citizens during the Heating Season in Tianjin, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-13, April.
    13. Ondrej Machaczka & Vitezslav Jirik & Viera Brezinova & Adela Vrtkova & Hana Miturova & Petra Riedlova & Andrea Dalecka & Barbara Hermanova & Hana Slachtova & Grzegorz Siemiatkowski & Leszek Osrodka & , 2021. "Evaluation of Fine and Ultrafine Particles Proportion in Airborne Dust in an Industrial Area," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-14, August.
    14. Frances M. Nilsen & Jazmin D.C. Ruiz & Nicolle S. Tulve, 2020. "A Meta-Analysis of Stressors from the Total Environment Associated with Children’s General Cognitive Ability," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-35, July.
    15. Markus Braun & Rawya Al-Qaysi & Doris Klingelhöfer & Ruth Müller & David A. Groneberg, 2020. "High Particulate Matter Burden of Cigarettes from the United Arab Emirates and Germany: Are There Country-Specific Differences?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-12, April.
    16. Fabio Boccuni & Riccardo Ferrante & Francesca Tombolini & Sergio Iavicoli & Armando Pelliccioni, 2021. "Relationship between Indoor High Frequency Size Distribution of Ultrafine Particles and Their Metrics in a University Site," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-15, May.
    17. Janusz Kulejewski & Jerzy Rosłon, 2023. "Optimization of Ecological and Economic Aspects of the Construction Schedule with the Use of Metaheuristic Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-26, January.
    18. Yang Ni & Wang Song & Yu Bai & Tao Liu & Guoxing Li & Ying Bian & Qiang Zeng, 2021. "Years of Life Lost (YLL) Due to Short-Term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-17, October.
    19. Xiao Gong & Jianing Mi & Chunyan Wei & Ruitao Yang, 2019. "Measuring Environmental and Economic Performance of Air Pollution Control for Province-Level Areas in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-19, April.
    20. James C. Matthews & Chalida Chompoobut & Panida Navasumrit & M. Anwar H. Khan & Matthew D. Wright & Mathuros Ruchirawat & Dudley E. Shallcross, 2023. "Particle Number Concentration Measurements on Public Transport in Bangkok, Thailand," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(7), pages 1-14, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:21:p:4181-:d:281433. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.