Breastfeeding and allergic disease: a multidisciplinary review of the literature (1966–2001) on the mode of early feeding in infancy and its impact on later atopic manifestations

The review group concluded that breastfeeding seems to protect from the development of atopic disease. The effect appears even stronger in children with atopic heredity. If breast milk is unavailable or insufficient, extensively hydrolysed formulas are preferable to unhydrolysed or partially hydrolysed formulas in terms of the risk of some atopic manifestations.