Influence of breastfeeding on retinal vessel calibers in school-age children. The Generation R Study
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Published on: October 22, 2014
O Gishti1,2,3, V W V Jaddoe1,2,3, L Duijts2,3
1Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
Never breastfeeding was linked to narrower retinal venular caliber in children. Breastfeeding duration and exclusivity did not show associations with retinal vessel calibers in this study.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology
Background:
- Shorter breastfeeding duration is linked to increased adult cardiovascular disease risk.
- Early microvasculature adaptations may underlie this association.
- Retinal vessel caliber is a potential indicator of microvascular health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between breastfeeding (ever, duration, exclusivity) and solid food introduction timing with retinal vessel calibers in children.
- To explore early indicators of microvascular health in relation to infant feeding practices.
Main Methods:
- Population-based prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
- Data collected via postal questionnaires on breastfeeding and solid food introduction.
- Retinal arteriolar and venular calibers measured from digitized retinal photographs in 3220 children at median age 6.0 years.
Main Results:
- Children never breastfed had narrower retinal arteriolar and venular calibers compared to breastfed children (unadjusted).
- After adjustments, never breastfeeding was associated only with narrower retinal venular caliber.
- No significant associations were found for breastfeeding duration, exclusivity, or age of solid food introduction with retinal vessel calibers.
Conclusions:
- Never breastfeeding may be associated with narrower retinal venular caliber in childhood.
- Breastfeeding duration and exclusivity were not associated with retinal vessel calibers.
- Findings are hypothesis-generating for future research on infant feeding and vascular health.
Background/Objectives:
A shorter breastfeeding duration is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Early microvasculature structure adaptations may be part of the underlying mechanism. We examined the associations of ever breastfeeding, breastfeeding duration and exclusivity, and the timing of introduction of solid foods with retinal vessel calibers in children.
Subjects/Methods:
We performed a population-based prospective cohort study from fetal life onwards in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We obtained information on ever breastfeeding, breastfeeding duration and exclusivity, and age at introduction of solid foods from postal questionnaires at the ages of 2, 6 and 12 months after birth. At the median age of 6.0 years (90% range: 5.7-6.8), we measured retinal arteriolar and venular calibers from digitized retinal photographs among 3220 children. Grader-specific s.d. scores (SDS) for both central retinal and arteriolar equivalents were constructed.
Results:
We observed that in the models only adjusted for child's age, sex and ethnicity, children who were never breastfed had narrower retinal arteriolar and venular calibers in childhood as compared with children who were breastfed (differences in retinal arteriolar and venular calibers, respectively: -0.16 SDS (95% confidence interval (CI): -0.29, -0.03) and -0.18 SDS (95% CI: -0.32, -0.04)). After additional adjustment for maternal and childhood socio-demographic and lifestyle-related characteristics, never breastfeeding was only associated with narrower retinal venular caliber (difference: -0.15 SDS (95% CI: -0.29, -0.02)). We did not observe associations of breastfeeding duration or exclusivity, or age at introduction of solid foods with retinal vessel calibers.
Conclusions:
Children who were never breastfed tended to have narrower retinal venular calibers. We did not observe associations of breastfeeding duration with retinal vessel calibers. Family-based socio-demographic factors, maternal lifestyle-related factors and childhood factors only slightly influenced the observed associations. These results should be considered a hypothesis generating for further observational and experimental studies.
