The impact of short-term predominate breastfeeding on cognitive outcome at 5 years.

Abstract

Breastfeeding is associated with IQ, school attendance and income. Despite the known benefits of breastfeeding, the rate of exclusive breastfeeding up to 6months is low globally. We examined the effect of short-term breastfeeding on long-term IQ. In this secondary analysis of the prospective Cork BASELINE Birth Cohort Study, children were categorised as predominantly breastfed (n=288) versus exclusively formula-fed (n=254) at 2-months of age. Infants (n=404) receiving mixed feeding were excluded. Outcome was assessed using the KBIT-II at 5years. Multivariable linear regression was used to adjust for confounding variables. Following adjustment for confounding variables, children, predominately breastfed at 2months of age, demonstrated increased overall IQ (2.00 points (95% CI: 0.35 to 3.65); P=.018) and non-verbal IQ at 5years of age (1.88 points (95% CI: 0.22 to 3.54); P=.027) compared with those never breastfed. No significant relationship was found with verbal IQ (P=.154). A significant increase in composite and non-verbal IQ at 5years of age was associated with short-term breastfeeding. This study adds to a growing body of evidence that short-term breastfeeding promotes healthy cognitive development.