This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Breast-feeding may lower risk for CVD, stroke
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Women who breast-fed had a lower risk for CVD and stroke compared with women who never breast-fed, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
“The findings should encourage more widespread breast-feeding for the benefit of the mother as well as the child,” Zhengming Chen, MBBS, DPhil, professor of epidemiology at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, said in a press release. “The study provides support for [WHO’s] recommendation that mothers should breast-feed their babies exclusively for their first 6 months of life.”
Researchers reviewed data from 289,573 women (mean age at baseline, 51 years) from various areas throughout China. Participants did not have a history of CVD at baseline. Most women gave birth to at least one child (99%), and among those, 97% reported having ever breast-fed and 91% breast-fed for at least 6 months. Women breast-fed each child for a median of 12 months. Participants were followed up for a median of 8.1 years.
Endpoints of interest included CHD, incident CVD, cerebrovascular disease including ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, fatal CVD and major CVD.
Throughout follow-up, CHD was reported in 16,671 women, and stroke occurred in 23,983 women, most of which were ischemic stroke (n = 14,290).
Women who breast-fed had a lower risk for major CVD (HR = 0.88; 95% CI, 0.8-0.97), CHD (HR = 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84-0.99) stroke (HR = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.85-0.99) and ischemic stroke (HR = 0.88; 95% CI, 0.79-0.97) compared with those who never breast-fed.
Breast-feeding for more than 24 months was associated with an 18% risk reduction for CHD (HR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.77-0.87) and 17% risk reduction for stroke (HR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.79-0.87) vs. women who did not breast-feed. Every 6 months of additional breast-feeding per child contributed to lower risk for stroke (HR = 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.98) and CHD (HR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.94-0.98).
“Pregnancy is characterized by major changes in the maternal metabolic system to support fetal growth and in anticipation of breast-feeding, including accumulation visceral fat, increased insulin resistance and higher circulating lipids,” Sanne A. E. Peters, PhD, a research fellow at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, and colleagues wrote. “The ‘reset hypothesis’ posits that breast-feeding plays a central role in mobilizing these accumulated fat stores and in resetting the maternal metabolism after birth. The longer a woman breast-feeds, the more completely these accumulated stores may be deposited, potentially with lasting benefits for maternal cardiometabolic health.” – by Darlene Dobkowski
Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts