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An Online Calculator to Estimate the Impact of Changes in Breastfeeding Rates on Population Health and Costs
Published Web Location
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/bfm.2017.0083?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmedNo data is associated with this publication.
Abstract
Objective
We sought to determine the impact of changes in breastfeeding rates on population health.Materials and methods
We used a Monte Carlo simulation model to estimate the population-level changes in disease burden associated with marginal changes in rates of any breastfeeding at each month from birth to 12 months of life, and in rates of exclusive breastfeeding from birth to 6 months of life. We used these marginal estimates to construct an interactive online calculator (available at www.usbreastfeeding.org/saving-calc ). The Institutional Review Board of the Cambridge Health Alliance exempted the study.Results
Using our interactive online calculator, we found that a 5% point increase in breastfeeding rates was associated with statistically significant differences in child infectious morbidity for the U.S. population, including otitis media (101,952 cases, 95% confidence interval [CI] 77,929-131,894 cases) and gastrointestinal infection (236,073 cases, 95% CI 190,643-290,278 cases). Associated medical cost differences were $31,784,763 (95% CI $24,295,235-$41,119,548) for otitis media and $12,588,848 ($10,166,203-$15,479,352) for gastrointestinal infection. The state-level impact of attaining Healthy People 2020 goals varied by population size and current breastfeeding rates.Conclusion
Modest increases in breastfeeding rates substantially impact healthcare costs in the first year of life.Many UC-authored scholarly publications are freely available on this site because of the UC's open access policies. Let us know how this access is important for you.