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Chronic disease and infant nutrition: is it significant to public health?
1Australian Centre for Economic Research on Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia. julie.smith@anu.edu.au
Insights
Premature infant weaning from breast milk significantly increases later-life chronic disease risk by 30-200%. Promoting longer breastfeeding duration is crucial for public health and reducing future disease burden.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Premature weaning from breast milk is a concern for infant health.
- Breastfeeding duration is linked to later-life health outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the public health impact of early infant weaning from breast milk.
- To assess the association between premature weaning and chronic illness risk later in life.
Main Methods:
- A review of meta-analyses on premature weaning and chronic disease risk.
- Estimation of infant feeding practices in Australia since 1927.
- Calculation of population-attributable proportion for artificial feeding.
Main Results:
- Non-breastfed infants show 30-200% higher chronic disease risk.
- Premature weaning exposure ranges from 20% to 90% in post-WWII cohorts.
- Estimated 6-24% of chronic disease is attributable to 30% premature weaning exposure.
Conclusions:
- Breastfeeding is vital for chronic disease prevention.
- Premature weaning consistently elevates later-life chronic disease risk.
- Substantial risk exposure in Australia; longer breastfeeding can reduce future health costs.
Objective:
To assess the public health significance of premature weaning of infants from breast milk on later-life risk of chronic illness.
Design:
A review and summary of recent meta-analyses of studies linking premature weaning from breast milk with later-life chronic disease risk is presented followed by an estimation of the approximate exposure in a developed Western country, based on historical breast-feeding prevalence data for Australia since 1927. The population-attributable proportion of chronic disease associated with current patterns of artificial feeding in infancy is estimated.
Results:
After adjustment for major confounding variables, current research suggests that the risks of chronic disease are 30-200 % higher in those who were not breast-fed compared to those who were breast-fed in infancy. Exposure to premature weaning ranges from 20 % to 90 % in post-World War II age cohorts. Overall, the attributable proportion of chronic disease in the population is estimated at 6-24 % for a 30 % exposure to premature weaning.
Conclusions:
Breast-feeding is of public health significance in preventing chronic disease. There is a small but consistent effect of premature weaning from breast milk in increasing later-life chronic disease risk. Risk exposure in the Australian population is substantial. Approximately 90 % of current 35-45-year-olds were weaned from breast-feeding by 6 months of age. Encouraging greater duration and exclusivity of breast-feeding is a potential avenue for reducing future chronic disease burden and health system costs.
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