Title
Prolonged breastfeeding for 24 months or more and mental health at 6 years of age: evidence from the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study, Brazil
Date Issued
01 November 2017
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Universidade Federal de Pelotas
Publisher(s)
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
Abstract
Background: There is scarce and conflicting evidence on medium- to long-term effects of prolonged breastfeeding on child behavior. Method: A population-based birth cohort study started in 2004 in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. Children were followed up at 3, 12, 24, and 48 months and 6 years of age. Breastfeeding duration was determined based on information collected around the time of weaning. Psychiatric disorders were assessed using the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA). Children who were never breastfed were excluded from the analysis. Crude and adjusted analyses were performed using Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: Data on breastfeeding and mental health at the age of 6 years were available for 3377 children. Prevalence of breastfeeding for 24–35 months and ≥36 months was 16.1% (95% CI: 14.8–17.3) and 8.1% (95% CI: 7.2–9.1), respectively. Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among those who were breastfed for <24 months, 24–35 months and ≥36 months was 12.4% (95% CI: 11.1–13.7), 13.1% (95% CI: 10.4–16.2) and 12.3% (95% CI: 8.7–16.8), respectively. No association was found between breastfeeding for 24 months or more and psychiatric disorders among children aged 6 years both in the crude and adjusted analyses. Conclusions: In this cohort there was no association between breastfeeding for 24 months or more and an increased prevalence of psychiatric disorders at the age of 6 years. Studies analyzing the medium- and long-term effects of prolonged breastfeeding for 2 years or more are scarce and further research is needed regarding this practice.
Start page
209
End page
215
Volume
22
Issue
4
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Salud pública, Salud ambiental
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85017554107
PubMed ID
Source
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Resource of which it is part
Child and Adolescent Mental Health
ISSN of the container
1475357X
Source funding
World Health Organization
Sponsor(s)
This article is based on data from the study ‘Pelotas Birth Cohort, 2004’ conducted by Postgraduate Program in Epidemiology at Universidade Federal de Pelotas, with the collaboration of the Brazilian Public Health Association (ABRASCO). From 2009 to 2013, the Wellcome Trust supported the 2004 birth cohort study. The World Health Organization, National Support Program for Centers of Excellence (PRONEX), Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq), Brazilian Ministry of Health, and Children’s Pastorate supported previous phases of the study. The present analyses were supported by the Program in science and technology from the Peruvian Presidency of the Council of Ministers (FINCyT-Peru) and the Brazilian Federal Agency for Post-graduate Education (CAPES-Brazil). ISS, FCB, and AM are supported by the CNPq. The authors have declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest.
This article is based on data from the study ?Pelotas Birth Cohort, 2004? conducted by Postgraduate Program in Epidemiology at Universidade Federal de Pelotas, with the collaboration of the Brazilian Public Health Association (ABRASCO). From 2009 to 2013, the Wellcome Trust supported the 2004 birth cohort study. The World Health Organization, National Support Program for Centers of Excellence (PRONEX), Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq), Brazilian Ministry of Health, and Children's Pastorate supported previous phases of the study. The present analyses were supported by the Program in science and technology from the Peruvian Presidency of the Council of Ministers (FINCyT-Peru) and the Brazilian Federal Agency for Post-graduate Education (CAPES-Brazil). ISS, FCB, and AM are supported by the CNPq. The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.
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