OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the influence of breastfeeding on the intellectual capacity of children from a cohort in a developing country, with a control for the main confounding factors. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed including all infants born in the hospitals of a medium-size city, and a random sample of these newborns was monitored at 30, 90, and 180 days of life, and at age 8 years. Several aspects of breastfeeding were assessed in the follow-up and, at 8 years, general intellectual capacity was assessed through the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test. The statistical analyses used Student's t-test, ANOVA, and linear regression and logistics, considering p-values less than 0.05 as statistically significant associations. RESULTS: At age 8 years, 560 children were assessed with Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test. The average score was 22.56 points, with a standard deviation of 5.93. The difference in the averages found between the breastfed and non-breastfed groups at six months of age was 1.33 (p=0.008). Mother's and child's skin color, social and economic class, maternal education and smoking, and breastfeeding at six months of age (p=0.007) were still associated with the outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Children that were breastfed for six months or more had better performance in the general intellectual assessment, even after adjusting for the main confounding factors.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the influence of breastfeeding on the intellectual capacity of children from a cohort in a developing country, with a control for the main confounding factors. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was performed including all infants born in the hospitals of a medium-size city, and a random sample of these newborns was monitored at 30, 90, and 180 days of life, and at age 8 years. Several aspects of breastfeeding were assessed in the follow-up and, at 8 years, general intellectual capacity was assessed through the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test. The statistical analyses used Student's t-test, ANOVA, and linear regression and logistics, considering p-values less than 0.05 as statistically significant associations. RESULTS: At age 8 years, 560 children were assessed with Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices test. The average score was 22.56 points, with a standard deviation of 5.93. The difference in the averages found between the breastfed and non-breastfed groups at six months of age was 1.33 (p=0.008). Mother's and child's skin color, social and economic class, maternal education and smoking, and breastfeeding at six months of age (p=0.007) were still associated with the outcome. CONCLUSIONS:Children that were breastfed for six months or more had better performance in the general intellectual assessment, even after adjusting for the main confounding factors.
Authors: Fabio Alberto Camargo-Figuera; Aluísio J D Barros; Iná S Santos; Alicia Matijasevich; Fernando C Barros Journal: BMC Pediatr Date: 2014-12-16 Impact factor: 2.125
Authors: Joel Alves Lamounier; Roberto Gomes Chaves; Maria Albertina Santiago Rego; Maria Cândida Ferrarez Bouzada Journal: Rev Paul Pediatr Date: 2019-06-19
Authors: Wanêssa Lacerda Poton; Ana Luiza Gonçalves Soares; Elizabete Regina Araújo de Oliveira; Helen Gonçalves Journal: Rev Saude Publica Date: 2018-02-05 Impact factor: 2.106