Does breast-feeding influence intelligence quotients at 9 and 10 years of age?

doi:10.1016/S0378-3732(97)00044-1

Early Human Development

Volume 50, Issue 2, 9 January 1998, Pages 209-217

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-3732(97)00044-1 Get rights and content

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 chloridedeficient 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.

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Cited by (47)

Dynamic changes at high-protein dietary pattern of major fatty acids in healthy lactating women: A systematic review and meta-analysis
2024, Nutrition
Fatty acids (FAs) in human milk are important nutrients for infants. They play important roles in energy supply, nervous system development, and metabolic function maintenance. However, how the composition of major milk FAs change with lactation stages remains controversial.
To systematically review the concentration range of major FAs in human milk at various lactation stages.
A total of 12 papers involving 50 sets of data with 3507 participants were reviewed according to the PRISMA checklist and flow diagram. The inclusion criteria was the literatures had the FAs contents in breast milk of healthy lactation mothers at three lactation stages and the dietary patterns could be calculated. The exclusion criteria were: the studies were duplicates, were unrelated to dietary patterns or breast milk composition, and/or the study populations were unhealthy. We searched PubMed, the China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang, and Web of science. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) was used to assess the bias of studies. The mean values of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), arachidonic acid (AA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), α-linolenic acid (ALA), linoleic acid (LA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), and saturated fatty acids (SFAs, including lauric acid and palmitic acid), in human milk at three lactation stages (colostrum 1–7 d, transitional milk 8–14 d, mature milk 15 d–3 mo) of healthy lactating women were investigated in terms of the high protein dietary pattern. Publication biases were evaluated by Egger's test.
According to the percentage in total fat of colostrum, transitional milk, and mature milk (% wt/wt), respectively, the results showed that PUFA (25.72%, 24.92%, and 22.69%), AA (0.85%, 0.76%, and 0.59%), DHA (0.53%, 0.47%, and 0.39%), EPA (0.15%, 0.10%, and 0.10%), and MUFA (37.39%, 37.21%, and 36.14%) contents in breast milk decreased with lactation, while another two PUFA forms, LA (17.47%, 17.82%, and 17.48%), and ALA (1.09%, 1.39%, and 1.24%) arrived at a peak in the transitional milk and then decreased in the mature milk, SFA (37.46%, 38.64%, and 40.52%), and lauric acid contents (2.78%, 4.91%, and 4.97%) increased with the lactation stages.
These findings could shed light on the dynamic change progress of major FA metabolism, potentially enhancing the knowledge of lactation biology, and improving infant feeding practices to meet their needs.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids and their metabolites in the pathobiology of schizophrenia
2013, Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry
Citation Excerpt :
Investigations directed to identify such prenatal and perinatal factors reported that major depression and schizophrenia were associated with not being breast-fed, maternal emotional problems, and maternal viral infections (Allen et al., 1998; Lucas et al., 1992; McCreadie, 1997; Shi et al., 2003). It is believed that breast-feeding potentiates cognitive development, although some studies did not support this conclusion (Gale and Martyn, 1996; Malloy and Berendes, 1998). Since schizophrenia is preceded by childhood cognitive impairments (Crow et al., 1995; Jones et al., 1994; McCreadie, 1997), it was opined that breast-feeding might be a factor in the etiology of schizophrenia (Peet et al., 1997).
Schizophrenia can be considered as a low-grade systemic inflammatory disease with its origins in the perinatal period. It is likely that genetic, environmental, and nutritional factors interact to induce excess production of pro-inflammatory cytokines that, in turn, damage fetal neurons leading to the adult onset of schizophrenia. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and their metabolites such as lipoxins, resolvins, protectins, maresins and nitrolipids not only have potent neuroprotective action but also are capable of inhibiting the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Decreased formation of PUFAs as a result of low activity of Δ⁶ and Δ⁵ desaturases can result in an increase in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines due to the absence of negative control exerted by PUFAs and their anti-inflammatory metabolites that, in turn, may predispose to neuronal damage and development of schizophrenia in adult life. Furthermore, PUFAs are essential for brain growth and development. If this proposal is correct, this implies that perinatal and adult supplementation of PUFAs not only prevents but also helps in the treatment of schizophrenia. Furthermore, synthetic analogs of lipoxins, resolvins, and protectins may be of significant benefit in schizophrenia.
Cognitive function in adolescence: Testing for interactions between breast-feeding and FADS2 polymorphisms
2011, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Breast-fed C-allele carriers of the rs174575 single nucleotide polymorphism in the fatty acyl desaturase 2 (FADS2) gene have been reported to show a 6.4 to 7 IQ point advantage over formula-fed C-allele carriers, with no effect of breast-feeding in GG carriers. An Australian sample was examined to determine if an interaction between breast-feeding and the rs174575 single nucleotide polymorphism had any effect on IQ.
This hypothesis was tested in more than 700 families of adolescent twins assessed for IQ and breast-feeding, birth weight, and FADS2 polymorphisms, and parental socioeconomic status and education, and maternal FADS2 status.
No significant evidence for a moderating effect on IQ of rs174575 C-carrier status and breast-feeding was found, and there no effects of maternal FADS2 status on offspring IQ. In addition, no main effects of any FADS2 polymorphisms on IQ were found when the genotype was kept as two-homozygote and one-heterozygote categories and indeed no evidence for effects of breast-feeding on IQ scores after controlling for parental socioeconomic status and education. The investigation was extended to two additional FADS2 polymorphisms (rs1535 and rs174583), but again, although these polymorphisms code alleles affecting fatty acid metabolism, no main or interaction effects were found on IQ.
These results support the view that apparent effects of breast-feeding on IQ reflect differential likelihood of breast-feeding as a function of parental education and did not support the predicted interaction effect of FADS2 and breast-feeding on IQ.
Home environment, not duration of breast-feeding, predicts intelligence quotient of children at four years
2007, Nutrition
Citation Excerpt :
However, a causal relation has not been established because breast-feeding is often associated with socioeconomic advantage in industrialized communities, which has been shown repeatedly to be an important factor in child development. Although most studies have suggested better cognitive development in breast-fed children compared with formula-feeding [2–11], other studies have not supported this view especially after adjusting for social and family characteristics [8,12–15] and for maternal intelligence quotient (IQ) [15,16]. Although a recent meta-analysis [17] has associated breast-feeding with a higher IQ even after adjustment for potential confounding variables, it is noteworthy that only 1 [6] of the 20 studies included in the analysis assessed and controlled for the quality of home environment, which has been recognized as a key environmental influence of child development [6,9,15].
We investigated the relation between duration of breast-feeding in infancy and the intelligence quotient (IQ) of children at 4 y of age in a well-nourished population of an industrialized country.
Data on duration of breast-feeding were collected prospectively from a cohort of 302 children born between 1998 and 1999 in Adelaide, Australia. The IQ of the children was assessed at 4 y of age using the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale. Information on important predictors of childhood IQ including the quality of the home environment was also collected prospectively. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the effect of duration of breast-feeding on IQ with adjustment for potential confounders.
There was no association between the duration of breast-feeding and IQ of the children. The expected IQ of a child at 4 y of age who was breast-fed for 6 mo was only 0.2 point (95% confidence interval −0.8 to 1.2) higher than that of a child who had never been breast-fed after adjustments for the quality of the home environment and socioeconomic characteristics of families using multivariable regression analysis. The quality of the home environment, as assessed by the Home Screening Questionnaire, was the strongest predictor of IQ at 4 y.
There was no association between duration of breast-feeding and childhood IQ in this relatively well-nourished cohort from an industrialized society. In such settings, the apparent benefit of breast-feeding on cognitive function is most likely attributable to sociodemographic factors.
Breast-feeding and Mental and Motor Development at 51/2 Years
2006, Ambulatory Pediatrics
Breast-feeding is associated with better child development outcomes, but uncertainty remains primarily due to the close relationship between breast-feeding and socioeconomic status. This study assesses the issue in a low socioeconomic status sample where breast-feeding was close to universal.
Seven hundred eighty-four Chilean children were followed longitudinally from infancy. All but four were initially breastfed, 40% nursed beyond 12 months, and infant growth was normal. Child development was assessed at 5½ years by a cognitive, language, and motor test battery. The duration of breast-feeding as the sole milk source was analyzed as a continuous variable, adjusting for a comprehensive set of background factors.
The relationship between breast-feeding and most 5½-year developmental outcomes was nonlinear, with poorer outcome for periods of breast-feeding as the sole milk source for <2 months or >8 months—statistically significant for language, motor, and one comprehensive cognitive test, with a suggestive trend for IQ.
The observed nonlinear relationships showed that breast-feeding as the sole milk source for <2 months or >8 months, compared with 2–8 months, was associated with poorer development in this sample. The latter finding requires replication in other samples where long breast-feeding is common and socioeconomic status is relatively homogeneous.
Neurobehavioral evaluation of rhesus monkey infants fed cow's milk formula, soy formula, or soy formula with added manganese
2005, Neurotoxicology and Teratology
The possible neurobehavioral effects of excess manganese in soy formula were studied. Male rhesus monkeys (n = 8/group) were fed a commercial cow's milk based formula (Control), a commercial soy protein based formula (Soy), or the soy formula with added manganese (Soy + Mn) from birth to 4 months of age. Soy formulas naturally have higher manganese (Mn) content than cow's milk formulas. Monkeys received behavioral evaluations, growth measurements, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sampling from birth to 18 months of age. Soy and Soy + Mn groups engaged in less play behavior and more affiliative clinging in social dyadic interactions. These groups also had shorter wake cycles and shorter periods of daytime inactivity than controls. An impulsivity test was sensitive to the Soy group diet. The Soy + Mn group also had a blunted response to the dopamine agonist apomorphine. Groups did not differ significantly in CSF dopamine and serotonin metabolite concentrations, but these concentrations were correlated with several tasks affected by experimental formula. This experiment suggests that components of soy formula, including Mn, may influence brain development as reflected in behavioral measures.

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Does breast-feeding influence intelligence quotients at 9 and 10 years of age?

Abstract

J Pediatr

Soc Sci Med

J Pediatr

Lancet

Soc Sci Med

Early Human Development

Studies of breast-feeding and infections: how good is the evidence?

JAMA

Environmental factors in the relationship between breast-feeding and infant mortality: the role of sanitation and water in Malaysia

Am J Epidemiol

Infant feeding and mental and motor development at 18 months of age in first born singletons

Int J Epidemiol

Recall by mothers of the birth weights and feeding of their children

Human Nutr Appl Nutr