Breastfeeding duration and risk of depressive symptoms in adolescents

Epidemiological evidence on the relationship between breastfeeding duration in early childhood and subsequent depressive symptoms in adolescence is limited. This prebirth cohort study examined whether a longer breastfeeding duration was associated with a reduced risk of depressive symptoms in adolescents at 13 years.

The study included 872 mother-child pairs. Adolescent depressive symptoms were assessed using a 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale score of ≥16.

The risk of depressive symptoms was 23.2% among the 872 adolescents aged 13 years. A reverse J-shaped association was found between breastfeeding duration and depressive symptoms at 13 years. Compared with <6 months of breastfeeding, 6 to <18 months, but not ≥18 months, of breastfeeding was significantly associated with a reduced risk of depressive symptoms. The adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for depressive symptoms at 13 years for <6 months, 6 to <18 months, and ≥18 months of breastfeeding were 1 (reference), 0.58 (0.34-0.99), and 0.78 (0.46-1.32), respectively.

The present study found a reverse J-shaped association between breastfeeding duration and depressive symptoms at age 13. Breastfeeding for a duration of at least 6 months may be recommended to prevent adolescent depressive symptoms.

Epidemiological evidence on the relationship between breastfeeding duration in early childhood and subsequent depressive symptoms in adolescence is limited. The current prebirth cohort study is the first to report a reverse J-shaped association between breastfeeding duration and depressive symptoms at 13 years. Compared with breastfeeding for <6 months, breastfeeding for 6 to <18 months, but not ≥18 months, was significantly associated with a reduced risk of depressive symptoms at 13 years.