Does breast-feeding influence intelligence quotients at 9 and 10 years of age?
1University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA.
Insights
Breast-feeding showed a slight, but not statistically significant, advantage in intellectual development after adjusting for socioeconomic factors. Exclusive early breast-feeding did not demonstrate a significant link to IQ in this study population.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Developmental Psychology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- The impact of breast-feeding on long-term intellectual development is a subject of ongoing scientific debate.
- Previous research has yielded conflicting results, necessitating further investigation in diverse populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between breast-feeding and intellectual development in a high socioeconomic population.
- To assess the influence of breast-feeding duration and exclusivity on cognitive outcomes at 9-10 years of age.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of children born between 1978-1979 was studied, including those exposed to specific soy formulas and controls.
- Data on breast-feeding practices were collected, and intellectual development was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale-Revised (WISC-R).
- Statistical analyses, including linear regression, were employed to adjust for confounding variables like maternal education, paternal education, and income.
Main Results:
- Unadjusted analysis revealed a higher mean Full Scale IQ in breast-fed children (122) compared to non-breast-fed children (118).
- After adjusting for socioeconomic factors, this difference diminished, with no significant variation in adjusted mean Full Scale IQ (111 vs. 110).
- Further analysis of exclusively breast-fed infants for the first 60 days showed no significant relationship with IQ.
Conclusions:
- In this high socioeconomic population, breast-feeding did not demonstrate a significant independent effect on intellectual development when socioeconomic factors were controlled.
- The initial observed IQ difference was likely attributable to confounding variables rather than breast-feeding itself.
- Exclusive early breast-feeding did not show a significant association with cognitive outcomes in this cohort.
Abstract:
The effect of breast-feeding on intellectual development remains controversial. We explored this relationship in a high socioeconomic population in which breast-feeding was supplemented with soy containing formulas at some time during the first year of life. As part of the 1988 National Institute of Child Health and Human Development school-based survey of two metropolitan Washington, D.C. counties to identify children in the 1978 to 1979 birth cohort who had been exposed to the chloride deficient formulas Neo-Mull-Soy and Cho-Free during infancy, information on breast-feeding was also obtained on children exposed to the chloride-deficient formulas and a group of control children exposed to other soy formulas. Because no differences in intellectual development were observed between the two groups, they were combined and the effect of breast-feeding on intellectual development at 9 and 10 years was assessed. There were 176 infants that received no breast-feeding and 342 who were breast-fed. The median duration of breast-feeding was 124 days (interquartile range, 42-248 days). There were no differences in birth weight, gender or race between the infants who were breast-fed and those who were not. The mean Weschler Intelligence Scale-Revised Full Scale IQ was 122 among those breast-fed compared to 118 among those that were not (P = 0.0008). However, following adjustment by linear regression for maternal education, paternal education and annual income the adjusted mean full scale IQ was 111 among the breast-fed and 110 among the non-breast-fed (P = 0.23). Further analyses limited to those exclusively breast-fed for the first 60 days failed to demonstrate any significant relationship between breast-feeding and IQ.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:23Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the small...
01:22Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
01:29Measures of Intelligence
Validity refers to how well a test measures what it claims to measure. An intelligence test should accurately assess intelligence rather than another characteristic, like anxiety. Criterion validity is one way to evaluate this; it...
01:23Binet's Contribution to Measures of Intelligence
01:30Biological Influences on Intelligence
01:29Environmental Influences on Intelligence