Launer L J, Forman M R, Hundt G L, Sarov B, Chang D, Berendes H W, Naggan L
Division of Prevention Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 1992 Jun;46(3):203-6. doi: 10.1136/jech.46.3.203.
Retrospective infant feeding data are important to the study of child and adult health patterns. The accuracy of maternal recall of past infant feeding events was examined and specifically the infant's age when breast feeding was stopped and formula feeding and solid foods were introduced.
The sample consisted of Bedouin Arab women (n = 318) living in the Negev in Israel who were a part of a larger cohort participating in a prospective study of infant health and who were delivered of their infants between July 1 and December 15, 1981. Data from interviews conducted 12 and 18 months postpartum were compared to the standard data collected six months postpartum.
As length of recall increased there was a small increase in the mean difference, and its standard deviation, between the standard and recalled age when breast feeding was stopped and formula feeding and solid foods were started. Recall on formula feeding was less accurate than recall on solid foods and breast feeding. In particular, among those 61% reporting formula use at the six month interview, 51% did not recall introducing formula when interviewed at 18 months. The odds ratio (95% CI) of stunting versus normal length for age for formula fed versus breast fed infants based on recall data (OR = 2.07; 95% CI 0.82-5.22) differed only slightly from those based on the standard data (OR = 2.21; 95% CI 0.77-6.37). The accuracy of a mother's recall varied with her child's nutritional status at the time of the interview, but not with other sociodemographic, infant, or interviewer characteristics.
Retrospective infant feeding data based on maternal recall of events up to 18 months in the past can be used with confidence in epidemiological studies. However, data on formula feeding may not be as accurate as data on breast feeding and solid food feeding, and accuracy may decrease as length of recall increases.
回顾性婴儿喂养数据对于儿童和成人健康模式的研究很重要。本研究考察了母亲对过去婴儿喂养事件回忆的准确性，特别是停止母乳喂养、开始配方奶喂养和添加固体食物时婴儿的年龄。
样本包括居住在以色列内盖夫的贝都因阿拉伯妇女（n = 318），她们是参与一项婴儿健康前瞻性研究的更大队列的一部分，于1981年7月1日至12月15日期间分娩。将产后12个月和18个月访谈的数据与产后6个月收集的标准数据进行比较。
随着回忆时间的延长，停止母乳喂养、开始配方奶喂养和添加固体食物时的标准年龄与回忆年龄之间的平均差异及其标准差略有增加。配方奶喂养的回忆准确性低于固体食物喂养和母乳喂养。特别是，在6个月访谈时有61%报告使用配方奶的母亲中，18个月访谈时51%不记得曾引入配方奶。基于回忆数据，配方奶喂养婴儿与母乳喂养婴儿相比发育迟缓与正常身高的比值比（95%可信区间）（OR = 2.07；95%CI 0.82 - 5.22）与基于标准数据的比值比（OR = 2.21；95%CI 0.77 - 6.37）仅有轻微差异。母亲回忆的准确性随访谈时孩子的营养状况而变化，但与其他社会人口统计学、婴儿或访谈者特征无关。
基于母亲对过去18个月内事件回忆的回顾性婴儿喂养数据可在流行病学研究中放心使用。然而，配方奶喂养的数据可能不如母乳喂养和固体食物喂养的数据准确，且随着回忆时间的延长准确性可能降低。
