title: Infant feeding practice and childhood cognitive performance in South India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several studies have suggested a beneficial effect of infant breastfeeding on childhood cognitive function. The main objective was to examine whether duration of breastfeeding and age at introduction of complementary foods are related to cognitive performance in 9- to 10-year-old school-aged children in South India.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors examined 514 children from the Mysore Parthenon birth cohort for whom breastfeeding duration (six categories from <3 to > or = 18 months) and age at introduction of complementary foods (four categories from <4 to > or = 6 months) were collected at the first-, second- and third-year annual follow-up visits. Their cognitive function was assessed at a mean age of 9.7 years using three core tests from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for children and additional tests measuring long-term retrieval/storage, attention and concentration, visuo-spatial and verbal abilities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All the children were initially breastfed. The mode for duration of breastfeeding was 12-17 months (45.7%) and for age at introduction of complementary foods 4 months (37.1%). There were no associations between longer duration of breastfeeding, or age of introduction of complementary foods, and cognitive function at 9-10 years, either unadjusted or after adjustment for age, sex, gestation, birth size, maternal age, parity, socio-economic status, parents' attained schooling and rural/urban residence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Within this cohort, in which prolonged breastfeeding was the norm (90% breastfed > or = 6 months and 65% breastfed for > or = 12 months), there was no evidence suggesting a beneficial effect of longer duration of breastfeeding on later cognitive ability.
authors: Epidemiology Research Unit, Holdsworth Memorial Hospital, Mysore, Karnataka, India. veenasr@gmail.com
authors: Sargoor R
authors: SR
authors: Veena
authors: Ghattu V
authors: GV
authors: Krishnaveni
authors: Krishnamachari
authors: K
authors: Srinivasan
authors: Andrew K
authors: AK
authors: Wills
authors: Jacqueline C
authors: JC
authors: Hill
authors: Anura V
authors: AV
authors: Kurpad
authors: Sumithra
authors: S
authors: Muthayya
authors: Samuel C
authors: SC
authors: Karat
authors: Mahadevu
authors: M
authors: Nalinakshi
authors: Caroline H D
authors: CH
authors: Fall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000886:Anthropometry; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011203:Poverty; D012923:Social Class; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult