Association between breast-feeding and anthropometry and CVD risk factor status in adolescence and young adulthood: the Young Hearts Project, Northern Ireland

Abstract

Objective: To examine the association between breast-feeding and blood pressure, anthropometry and plasma lipid profile in both adolescence and young adulthood. Design: Longitudinal study of biological and behavioural risk factors for CVD. Setting: The Young Hearts Project, Northern Ireland. Subjects: Schoolchildren aged 12 years and 15 years who participated in a crosssectional study of lifestyle and health, and who were followed up as young adults aged 20-25 years. Results: There was no significant difference in height, weight, BMI, skinfold thickness measurements, blood pressure or plasma lipid profile in adolescents who had been breast-fed compared with those who had not been breast-fed. However, by the time these adolescents had reached adulthood, those who had been breast-fed were significantly taller than those who had not been breast-fed (standing height, P 5 0?013; leg length, P 5 0?035). Specifically, the breast-fed group was on average taller by 1?7 cm (95 % CI 0?4, 3?0 cm) and had longer legs by 1?0 cm (95 % CI 0?1, 1?9 cm). There was no significant difference in other anthropometric measures, blood pressure or plasma lipid profile in adults who had been breast-fed compared with those who had not been breast-fed. Conclusions: Compared with those who had not been breast-fed, individuals who had been breast-fed were taller in adulthood. Given the known association of increased adult height with improved life expectancy, the results from the present study support a beneficial effect of breast-feeding. KeywordsBreast-feeding Cardiovascular risk factors Anthropometry Adolescence AdulthoodOnly 35 % of UK babies are being exclusively breast-fed at 1 week, 21 % at 6 weeks, 7 % at 4 months and 3 % at 5 months (1) , despite WHO recommendations that infants should be fed breast milk exclusively for the first six months of life (2) . Although it is widely accepted that breast-feeding has numerous health benefits for both the infant and mother (3,4) , controversy remains over the benefits of breast-feeding on the incidence of adult CVD (5) and, in particular, CVD mortality (6)(7)(8) . Increasing evidence suggests that breast-feeding is associated with lower CVD risk factors such as serum total cholesterol (TC) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) (9)(10)(11) ; however, the effect of breast-feeding is not clear for all known risk factors, including BMI and blood pressure (12)(13)(14)(15) . Evidence suggests that breast-feeding in infancy may have a small effect on BMI in adolescence and adult life (12) . Breast-feeding is also associated with lower levels of TC and LDL-C in adulthood (6,9) . The magnitude of the effect of breast-feeding on blood pressure remains uncertain, and concerns have been expressed about the influence of publication bias and confounding on this relationship (13,14,16) . Little is known about the effect of breast-feeding on height in adolescence and adulthood; however, emerging evidence points to a potential association with increased stature (17,18) . Several recent studies have assessed the...

Risk factors for cardiovascular disease in adolescents

“…They found a dependent effect between the length of breastfeeding and the incidence of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. 24,25 In this study, among the boys, the length of breastfeeding showed a significant and inverse relation with the DBP. Among the girls, the length of exclusive breastfeeding showed a statistically significant and inverse relation with the BMI and SBP.…”

“…The unique composition of the nutrients in breast milk is qualitative and quantitatively different from any infant formula, as it contains bioactive substances, which affect the differentiation and proliferation of the fat cells, which can influence the tissue growth and development. 25 In line with these findings, the literature 26 affirms that the increased obesity in infants results from early and incorrect weaning; deriving from dietary errors in the first year of life, mainly in the urban population, which give up breastfeeding early and replace it by a diet with too many carbohydrates, in higher than necessary amounts for the child's growth and development. One element that is frequently present in the ineffective breastfeeding context and is also related to excessive weight gain in infants is the use of artificial formulae.…”

Duration of breast-feeding and cardiovascular risk factors among Iranian children and adolescents: The CASPIAN III study

“…Although studies examining the association between human milk feeding and CVD risks are not few, previous studies reached to contradictory results [13,21,22]. Several evidences suggest inverse association between BF, serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride levels (TG) [22][23][24], whereas others did not confirm such relationship [25,26].…”

Long-term benefits of breastfeeding

“…Boyla anne sütü aras›nda doz ba¤›ml› iliflki bulunmad›¤› için anne sütü al›m süresinin etkisinin olmad›¤› da vurgulanm›flt›r (8). Baflka bir çal›flmada da, anne sütü alan çocuklar›n eriflkin boylar›n›n, anne sütü almam›fl olanlara nazaran anlaml› ölçüde uzun oldu¤u bildirilmifltir (ortalama olarak 1,7 cm boyda uzunluk) (9).…”