Associations of breastfeeding history with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors in community-dwelling parous women: The Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort Study.

Takashi Matsunaga,Kokichi Arisawa,Naoyuki Takashima,Haruo Mikami,Rieko Okada,Masayuki Murata,Kiyonori Kuriki,Yohko Nakamura,Yoko Kubo,Kenji Wakai,Mako Nagayoshi,Daisuke Matsui,Takashi Tamura,Hiroko Nakagawa,Hidemi Ito,Isao Oze,Kenji Takeuchi,Ippei Shimoshikiryo,Yuka Kadomatsu,Yuichiro Nishida,Mineko Tsukamoto,Asahi Hishida,Chisato Shimanoe,Sadao Suzuki,Toshiro Takezaki,Nagato Kuriyama,Hiroaki Ikezaki,Sakurako Katsuura‐Kamano ,Yoshitami Saito

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0262252

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between breastfeeding and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling parous women and to clarify whether the associations depend on age. The present cross-sectional study included 11,118 women, aged 35-69 years. Participants' longest breastfeeding duration for one child and their number of breastfed children were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire, and their total breastfeeding duration was approximated as a product of the number of breastfed children and the longest breastfeeding duration. The longest and the total breastfeeding durations were categorized into none and tertiles above 0 months. Metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors (obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia) were defined as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Associations between breastfeeding history and metabolic syndrome or each cardiovascular risk factor were assessed using multivariable unconditional logistic regression analysis. Among a total of 11,118 women, 10,432 (93.8%) had ever breastfed, and 1,236 (11.1%) had metabolic syndrome. In participants aged <55 years, an inverse dose-response relationship was found between the number of breastfed children and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome; multivariable-adjusted odds ratios for 1, 2, 3, and ≥4 breastfed children were 0.60 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.31 to 1.17), 0.50 (95% CI: 0.29 to 0.87), 0.44 (95% CI: 0.24 to 0.84), and 0.35 (95% CI: 0.14 to 0.89), respectively. The longest and total breastfeeding durations of longer than 0 months were also associated with lower odds of metabolic syndrome relative to no breastfeeding history in participants aged <55 years. In contrast, all measures of breastfeeding history were not significantly associated with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular risk factors in participants aged ≥55 years old. Breastfeeding history may be related to lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged parous women.

Highlights

Metabolic syndrome is characterized as a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors, including central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and glucose intolerance [1]
In participants aged
The longest and total breastfeeding durations of longer than 0 months were associated with lower odds of metabolic syndrome relative to no breastfeeding history in participants aged

Summary

Introduction

Metabolic syndrome is characterized as a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors, including central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and glucose intolerance [1]. Recent meta-analyses have found that metabolic syndrome increases the risks of cardiovascular disease [2], cancers [3], chronic kidney disease [4], liver-related events [5], and all-cause mortality [6]. Meta-analyses of observational studies have shown that breastfeeding has some protective effects on the maternal risks of type 2 diabetes mellitus [10], hypertension [11], and postpartum weight retention [12], and some observational studies have suggested its protective effects against metabolic syndrome [13,14,15,16,17,18] and cardiovascular disease [19].

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Results

Conclusion