title: Late effects of breast-feeding and early weaning: seven-year prospective study in children.
abstract: The effect of breast feeding on some clinical and thyroid function parameters was studied in a prospective longitudinal study from birth up to 7 years of age. At the ages 1-7 years, the obesity rates observed in children breast-fed for less than 3 months were substantially higher than in children who had been breast-fed over longer intervals. Mean age when obesity was reported was similar in all groups (4-5 years). The rates of respiratory tract diseases were found to be highest in children which had been breast-fed for less than 2 weeks. Breast-feeding for more than 6 months had a protective effect against diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The longitudinal follow-up revealed biphasic changes of thyroid hormones and TSH in sera with a nadir at 2-3 years, followed by an increase at the end of preschool age. Duration of breast-feeding did not affect profoundly these parameters at the ages 1-7 years. Surprisingly, during late preschool age (5-6 years) total serum cholesterol increased with the age at weaning. The atherogenic index in 6-year-old children was most favourable in the group breast-fed over more than 1 but less than 3 months. This was due to the highest levels of HDL-cholesterol in this group. We conclude that the age at weaning may be important for the later development of children.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, CSFR.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Strbák
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skultétyová
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hromadová
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Randusková
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Macho
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000097:blood; D013997:Time Factors; D014886:Weaning
chemical_list: D013963:Thyroid Hormones; D013972:Thyrotropin; D002784:Cholesterol