Breastfeeding status at age 3 months is associated with adiposity and cardiometabolic markers at age 4 years in Mexican children.
BACKGROUND
The effect of breastfeeding (BF) on cardiometabolic risk factors is not well characterized.


OBJECTIVE
The objective was to assess the association of BF status at 3 mo and duration with adiposity and cardiometabolic markers at 4 y.


METHODS
We studied 727 children with prospectively collected BF information and anthropometric measurements at 4 y, of whom 524 provided a nonfasting blood sample. BF status at 3 mo was classified as exclusive or predominant (EBF-PreBF), partial (PaBF), or nonbreastfeeding (NBF). Total duration of any BF was classified as <3 mo, 3- 6 mo, >6 to 12 mo, and >12 mo. We modeled associations of BF with body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)), serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides (TGs), and insulin at 4 y.


RESULTS
Children who were NBF or PaBF at 3 mo had higher BMI [0.46 (95% CI: 0.16, 0.76) and 0.31 (95% CI: 0.07, 0.54), respectively] than the EBF-PreBF group (P < 0.01). NBF children had higher total cholesterol (8.02 mg/dL; 95% CI: 1.39, 14.64; P = 0.02) than children who were EBF-PreBF. LDL cholesterol (5.04 mg/dL; 95% CI: -0.72, 10.81) and TGs (12% change; 95% CI: -0.01, 0.24) showed similar patterns. An inverse association between EBF-PreBF and insulin, mediated through abdominal circumference, was documented (P < 0.05). Children breastfed <3 mo had higher BMI (0.44; 95% CI: 0.11, 0.77) at 4 y than children breastfed for >12 mo.


CONCLUSIONS
EBF and PreBF at 3 mo were associated with lower adiposity and serum total cholesterol in children at 4 y. In addition, BF >12 mo was associated with lower adiposity. These data confirm the importance of exclusive BF and prolonged BF for later cardiometabolic health.
Center for Nutrition and Health Research, and.
Ivonne
I
Ramirez-Silva
Center for Nutrition and Health Research, and jrivera@insp.mx.
Juan A
JA
Rivera
Center for Evaluation Research and Surveys, National Institute of Public Health, Cuernavaca, Mexico;
Belem
B
Trejo-Valdivia
Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; and.
Reynaldo
R
Martorell
Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; and.
Aryeh D
AD
Stein
Nutrition and Metabolism Section, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
Isabelle
I
Romieu
Center for Nutrition and Health Research, and.
Albino
A
Barraza-Villarreal
Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA; and.
Usha
U
Ramakrishnan
D050154:Adiposity; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001786:Blood Glucose; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D016014:Linear Models; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008800:Mexico; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D055105:Waist Circumference
D015415:Biomarkers; D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D007328:Insulin; D014280:Triglycerides
adiposity; breastfeeding; children; cholesterol; insulin