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Infant feeding and blood cholesterol: a study in adolescents and a systematic review
Christopher G Owen1, Peter H Whincup, Katherine Odoki
1Department of Public Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London, United Kingdom. c.owen@sghms.ac.uk
Insights
Breastfeeding increases infant cholesterol but lowers it in adulthood. This suggests long-term cardiovascular benefits, impacting infant formula recommendations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Cardiovascular Health
- Lipid Metabolism
Background:
- Infant feeding methods significantly influence early development.
- Understanding long-term cholesterol implications is crucial for cardiovascular health.
- Previous research on infant feeding and cholesterol has yielded varied results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of infant feeding method on serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
- To analyze cholesterol levels across infancy, childhood, adolescence, and adulthood based on feeding history.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study of adolescents (13-16 years) was conducted.
- A systematic review of observational studies on infant feeding and cholesterol was performed.
- Random effects models were used to analyze data from 37 studies with 52 observations.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in TC was found in childhood/adolescence between breastfed and bottle-fed individuals.
- Infants who were breastfed had higher mean TC levels compared to bottle-fed infants.
- Adults who were breastfed exhibited lower mean TC and LDL cholesterol levels.
Conclusions:
- Breastfeeding is associated with elevated TC and LDL in infancy but reduced levels in adulthood.
- These findings suggest potential long-term cardiovascular health benefits of breastfeeding.
- The results may inform the composition of infant formula milk.
Objective:
To examine the influence of infant feeding method on serum total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study of 13- to 16-year-olds and a systematic review of studies (all observational) on the effects of infant feeding on cholesterol in infancy (<1 year), childhood or adolescence (1-16 years), and adulthood (> or =17 years) were conducted using random effects models. Differences are presented as breastfed-bottle-fed. A total of 1532 individuals (92% white; 55% male; mean age: 15.1 years) in 10 British towns were studied, and 37 studies with 52 observations on TC (26 in infancy, 17 in childhood or adolescence, and 9 in adulthood; corresponding figures for LDL were 7, 4, and 6) were reviewed.
Results:
Mean TC in childhood or adolescence (including the new study) was not related to infant feeding pattern (mean TC difference = 0.00; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.07 to 0.07 mmol/L). However, in infancy, mean TC was higher among those breastfed (mean TC difference = 0.64; 95% CI: 0.50-0.79 mmol/L), whereas in adults, mean TC was lower among those breastfed (mean TC difference = -0.18; 95% CI: -0.30 to -0.06 mmol/L). Patterns for LDL were similar to those for TC throughout.
Conclusions:
Breastfeeding is associated with increased mean TC and LDL levels in infancy but lower levels in adulthood/adult life. These results suggest that breastfeeding may have long-term benefits for cardiovascular health and may have implications for the content of formula feed milks.