Abdullah Al Mamun1, Michael J O'Callaghan2, Gail M Williams3, Jake M Najman4, Leonie Callaway2,5, Harold D McIntyre2,6. 1. School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston Rd, Herston, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia. mamun@sph.uq.edu.au. 2. School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. 3. School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston Rd, Herston, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia. 4. School of Population Health and School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Herston Rd, Herston, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia. 5. Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. 6. Mater Health Services, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Abstract
AIM: It is unclear whether any breastfeeding or a certain duration of breastfeeding is protective against the development of diabetes in adult offspring. METHODS: We followed a sub-sample of 3,595 offspring born in the Mater Hospital in Brisbane, Australia between 1981 and 1983 and for whom we had doctor diagnosed self-reported diabetes at age 21 years and maternal reported duration of breastfeeding at 6-month post-natal follow-up. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the independent associations of duration of breastfeeding (never breastfeed, breastfed <4 months and breastfed ≥4 months) with offspring diabetes by age 21 years. RESULTS: Of 3,595 young adults, 45 (1.25 %) developed diabetes by age 21 years. The odds ratio of experiencing diabetes was 0.58 (95 % CI 0.29, 1.16) for offspring who were breastfed <4 months, and it was 0.29 (95 % CI 0.13, 0.63), for offspring who were breastfed at least 4 months compared to the never breastfed offspring. Adjusting for potential confounding and mediating factors including maternal age, education, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), smoking, offspring sports, TV and their BMI at 21 years did not substantially alter this association. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this study suggest that infants who are breastfed for longer than 4 months have a substantial protective effect against the development of diabetes in young adulthood, which is independent of current BMI. Promoting breastfeeding for a minimum of 4 months may be a useful strategy for the prevention of diabetes among young adults.
AIM: It is unclear whether any breastfeeding or a certain duration of breastfeeding is protective against the development of diabetes in adult offspring. METHODS: We followed a sub-sample of 3,595 offspring born in the Mater Hospital in Brisbane, Australia between 1981 and 1983 and for whom we had doctor diagnosed self-reported diabetes at age 21 years and maternal reported duration of breastfeeding at 6-month post-natal follow-up. Multiple logistic regression was used to examine the independent associations of duration of breastfeeding (never breastfeed, breastfed <4 months and breastfed ≥4 months) with offspring diabetes by age 21 years. RESULTS: Of 3,595 young adults, 45 (1.25 %) developed diabetes by age 21 years. The odds ratio of experiencing diabetes was 0.58 (95 % CI 0.29, 1.16) for offspring who were breastfed <4 months, and it was 0.29 (95 % CI 0.13, 0.63), for offspring who were breastfed at least 4 months compared to the never breastfed offspring. Adjusting for potential confounding and mediating factors including maternal age, education, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), smoking, offspring sports, TV and their BMI at 21 years did not substantially alter this association. CONCLUSIONS: Findings of this study suggest that infants who are breastfed for longer than 4 months have a substantial protective effect against the development of diabetes in young adulthood, which is independent of current BMI. Promoting breastfeeding for a minimum of 4 months may be a useful strategy for the prevention of diabetes among young adults.
Entities:
Keywords:
Breastfeeding; Diabetes; Duration; Young adults