Prolonged breast-feeding as prophylaxis for atopic disease.

54 babies who had been solely breast-fed for more than 6 months, 77 babies who had been breast-fed for 2--6 months, and 105 babies who had been weaned to cow's-milk-based formulas at less than 2 months were followed for the first 3 years of life. All the babies had the same pattern of solid food intake until 1 year of age. Compared with formula feeding, prolonged breast-feeding resulted in a lower incidence of severe or obvious atopic disease particularly in babies with family history of atopy.