Open AccessThe association of breastfeeding with insulin resistance at 17 years: Prospective observations from Hong Kong's “ C hildren of 1997” birth cohort
Author(s) -
Hui Lai Ling,
Kwok Man Ki,
Nelson E. Anthony S.,
Lee So Lun,
Leung Gabriel M.,
Schooling C. Mary
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
maternal and child nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1740-8709
pISSN - 1740-8695
DOI - 10.1111/mcn.12490
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , insulin resistance , cohort , cohort study , prospective cohort study , type 2 diabetes , insulin , pediatrics , breast feeding , obstetrics , diabetes mellitus , demography , endocrinology , sociology
Breastfeeding has many benefits for mother and infant. Whether breastfeeding also protects against type 2 diabetes is unclear. To clarify the role of breastfeeding in type 2 diabetes, we assessed the association of breastfeeding with insulin resistance in late adolescence in a birth cohort from a non‐Western setting where breastfeeding was not associated with higher socio‐economic position. We used multivariable linear regression, with multiple imputation and inverse probability weighting, to examine the adjusted associations of contemporaneously reported feeding in the first 3 months of life (exclusively breastfed, mixed feeding, or always formula‐fed) with fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) at 17 years in a subset ( n = 710, 8.6% of entire cohort) of the Hong Kong Chinese birth cohort “Children of 1997.” We found a graded association of breastfeeding exclusivity in the first 3 months of life with lower fasting insulin and HOMA‐IR ( p ‐for‐trend < .05), but not fasting glucose, at 17 years. Exclusively breastfed adolescents (7%) had nonsignificantly lowest fasting insulin and HOMA‐IR, adjusted for sex, birth weight, parity, length of gestation, pregnancy characteristics, parents' education, and mother's place of birth. Exclusively breastfeeding for 3 months may be causally associated with lower insulin resistance in late adolescence. Further follow‐up studies into adulthood are required to clarify the long‐term protection of breastfeeding from type 2 diabetes.