The Turkish Journal of Pediatrics 2015 , Vol 57 , Num 5
Prolonged pacifier usage in infancy does not cause eating behavior problem later
Departments of 1Pediatrics and 2Public Health, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Faculty of Medicine, Çanakkale, 3Department of Pediatrics, Mardin Women and Children's Hospital, Mardin, 4 Division of Metabolism, Dr. Sami Ulus Child Health and Disease Training and Research Hospital and 5Social Pediatrics Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. Email: drnazan_erdal@hotmail.com Received: 19 September 2014, Revised 29 December 2015, Accepted: 20 January 2016 Kaymaz N, Yıldırım Ş, Cevizci S, Bulur N, Topaloğlu N, Binnetoğlu FK, Tekin M, Kılıç M, Özmert EN. Prolonged pacifier usage in infancy does not cause eating behavior problem later. Turk J Pediatr 2015; 57: 487-491.

The objective of this study conducted in children aged 3–7 years was to determine whether pacifier use during infancy is associated with eating problems in later periods. A total of 85 children (55.2 ±12.3 months) admitted to hospital with eating problems and with no organic pathology in scans, and 97 healthy children (52.24±10.97 months) without eating problems, were assigned to case and control groups, respectively. Eating problems were classified into five groups and investigated via a questionnaire. The presence of eating problems was analyzed for association with pacifier use. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of pacifier use (chi-square test: 0.141, p=0.707), and pacifier use is not related to a poor appetite in later periods. Pediatric healthcare providers and parents should be informed with regard to the subject. Keywords : eating problems, infant, pacifier usage, poor appetite

Copyright © 2016 turkishjournalpediatrics.org