Breast feeding and acute appendicitis

Acute appendicitis is the commonest reason for abdominal surgery in many countries, but its cause is unknown.1 The hygiene hypothesis attributes the rise in appendicitis that occurred in the United Kingdom at the beginning of this century to improvements in sewage disposal and water supplies in the late 19th century.2 These improvements in hygiene greatly reduced the exposure of infants to enteric organisms that programme the immune system of the gut, thereby rendering the bowel more susceptible to triggering infection later in life. Knowledge about risk factors for appendicitis is, however, poor, and the roles of diet,3 housing, and amenities …