

"Having been breastfed in infancy is associated with a lower average body mass index (BMI) and a higher average HDL (high-density lipoprotein or "good" cholesterol) level in adulthood, even after accounting for personal and maternal demographic and CVD risk factors that could influence the results," said Nisha I. Parikh, M.D., M.P.H., author of the study and a cardiovascular fellow at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Mass.


After adjustment for factors that could potentially influence the results (such as use of blood pressure-lowering medication, maternal education, maternal smoking, maternal body mass index, etc.), breastfed offspring had higher average HDL cholesterol levels in adulthood: 56.6 mg/dL vs. 53.7 mg/dL for the bottle-fed participants (though this was not significantly different once participant BMI was considered in later analysis).



Breastfeeding was not associated with any other adult CVD risk factor.

Parikh said she got the idea for the study after returning from maternity leave. "The benefits of breastfeeding in infancy and childhood are well established. But I wondered if it were as helpful for health in adulthood," she said.

While other studies have hinted that breastfeeding is protective against several CVD risk factors in adulthood, several prior studies were limited by a lack of adjustment for factors that could potentially influence the results, Parikh said.




"The findings show that early environmental exposures have long-term health effects," Parikh said. "They also underscore that atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease are life-course diseases that have their roots early in life."


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