Infant feeding patterns and cardiovascular risk factors in young adulthood; data from five cohorts in low and middle income countries

Chd Fall (1) , Judith Borja (2) , Clive Osmond (3) , Linda Richter (4) , Santosh Bhargava (5) , Reynaldo Martorell (6) , Aryeh D Stein (7)

1 University of Southampton
2 University of San Carlos
3 University of Southampton
4 Human Sciences Research Council
5 Sunder Lal Jain Hospital
6 Emory University [Atlanta, GA]
7 Hubert Department of Global Health

Background Infant feeding patterns may influence lifelong health. This study tested the hypothesis that longer duration of breastfeeding and later introduction of complementary foods in infancy are associated with reduced adult cardiovascular risk. Methods Data were pooled from 10,912 subjects aged 15-41 years from five prospective birth cohort studies in low/middle-income countries (Brazil, Guatemala, India, Philippines, South Africa). Associations were examined between infant feeding (duration of breastfeeding and age at introduction of complementary foods) and adult blood pressure, plasma glucose concentration, and adiposity (skinfolds, waist circumference, percentage body fat, overweight/obesity). Analyses were adjusted for maternal socio-economic status, education, age, smoking, race and urban/rural residence, and infant birthweight. Results There were no differences in outcomes between adults who were ever breastfed compared with those who were never breastfed. Duration of breastfeeding was not associated with adult diabetes prevalence or adiposity. There were U-shaped associations between duration of breastfeeding and systolic blood pressure and hypertension; however these were weak and inconsistent among the cohorts. Later introduction of complementary foods was associated with lower adult adiposity. BMI changed by -0.19 kg/m2 (95%CI -0.37,-0.01) and waist circumference by -0.45 cm (95% CI -0.88,-0.02) per 3-month increase in age at introduction of complementary foods. Conclusions There was no evidence that longer duration of breastfeeding is protective against adult hypertension, diabetes or overweight/adiposity in these low/middle-income populations. Further research is required to determine whether exclusive breastfeeding may be protective. Delaying complementary foods until 6 months, as recommended by WHO, may reduce the risk of adult overweight/adiposity, but the effect is likely to be small.

Mots clés: Medicine

Chd Fall, Judith Borja, Clive Osmond, Linda Richter, Santosh Bhargava, et al.. Infant feeding patterns and cardiovascular risk factors in young adulthood; data from five cohorts in low and middle income countries. International Journal of Epidemiology, 2010, ⟨10.1093/ije/DYQ155⟩. ⟨hal-00624429⟩