Boutwell Brian B, Beaver Kevin M, Barnes James C
College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas 77341-2296, United States.
J Paediatr Child Health. 2012 Sep;48(9):840-5. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-1754.2012.02547.x.
To examine whether the association between breastfeeding and childhood cognitive development is direct or whether the association is spurious owing to confounding variables.
The current study conducted a propensity score matching (PSM) analysis using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort.
The results of PSM models revealed that prior to matching, the association between breastfeeding and cognitive functioning was significant (mean difference = 3.20, t-value = 7.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 2.40-4.00, P ≤ 0.05). After controlling for a range of confounding factors, the mean difference was reduced by 40% (mean difference = 1.92, t-value = 3.75, 95% CI = 0.92-2.93, P ≤ 0.05); however, significant differences remained between groups.
The results produced in the current study provide tentative evidence that breastfeeding may have an influence on the development of cognitive abilities in children. Additional research is necessary, however, in order to further evaluate the causal impact and exact developmental pathway of breastfeeding on childhood cognitive growth.
探讨母乳喂养与儿童认知发展之间的关联是直接的，还是由于混杂变量导致该关联是虚假的。
本研究使用来自儿童早期纵向研究出生队列的数据进行倾向得分匹配（PSM）分析。
PSM模型的结果显示，匹配前，母乳喂养与认知功能之间的关联显著（平均差异 = 3.20，t值 = 7.86，95%置信区间（CI）= 2.40 - 4.00，P≤0.05）。在控制一系列混杂因素后，平均差异降低了40%（平均差异 = 1.92，t值 = 3.75，95%CI = 0.92 - 2.93，P≤0.05）；然而，两组之间仍存在显著差异。
本研究结果提供了初步证据，表明母乳喂养可能对儿童认知能力的发展有影响。然而，需要进一步的研究来进一步评估母乳喂养对儿童认知发展的因果影响和确切发展途径。
