Postgraduate Programme in Epidemiology, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Postgraduate Programme in Epidemiology, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Lancet Glob Health. 2015 Apr;3(4):e199-205. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(15)70002-1.
Breastfeeding has clear short-term benefits, but its long-term consequences on human capital are yet to be established. We aimed to assess whether breastfeeding duration was associated with intelligence quotient (IQ), years of schooling, and income at the age of 30 years, in a setting where no strong social patterning of breastfeeding exists.
A prospective, population-based birth cohort study of neonates was launched in 1982 in Pelotas, Brazil. Information about breastfeeding was recorded in early childhood. At 30 years of age, we studied the IQ (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd version), educational attainment, and income of the participants. For the analyses, we used multiple linear regression with adjustment for ten confounding variables and the G-formula.
From June 4, 2012, to Feb 28, 2013, of the 5914 neonates enrolled, information about IQ and breastfeeding duration was available for 3493 participants. In the crude and adjusted analyses, the durations of total breastfeeding and predominant breastfeeding (breastfeeding as the main form of nutrition with some other foods) were positively associated with IQ, educational attainment, and income. We identified dose-response associations with breastfeeding duration for IQ and educational attainment. In the confounder-adjusted analysis, participants who were breastfed for 12 months or more had higher IQ scores (difference of 3·76 points, 95% CI 2·20-5·33), more years of education (0·91 years, 0·42-1·40), and higher monthly incomes (341·0 Brazilian reals, 93·8-588·3) than did those who were breastfed for less than 1 month. The results of our mediation analysis suggested that IQ was responsible for 72% of the effect on income.
Breastfeeding is associated with improved performance in intelligence tests 30 years later, and might have an important effect in real life, by increasing educational attainment and income in adulthood.
Wellcome Trust, International Development Research Center (Canada), CNPq, FAPERGS, and the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
母乳喂养具有明显的短期益处，但它对人力资本的长期影响尚未确定。我们旨在评估在没有强烈母乳喂养社会模式的环境下，母乳喂养持续时间是否与 30 岁时的智商（智商）、受教育年限和收入相关。
1982 年在巴西佩洛塔斯开展了一项针对新生儿的前瞻性、基于人群的队列研究。在幼儿时期记录了有关母乳喂养的信息。在 30 岁时，我们研究了参与者的智商（韦氏成人智力测验，第 3 版）、教育程度和收入。对于分析，我们使用了包含十个混杂变量和 G 公式的多元线性回归。
2012 年 6 月 4 日至 2013 年 2 月 28 日，在 5914 名入组的新生儿中，有 3493 名参与者提供了智商和母乳喂养持续时间的信息。在未调整和调整分析中，总母乳喂养和主要母乳喂养（母乳喂养是主要的营养形式，同时还摄入其他一些食物）的持续时间与智商、教育程度和收入呈正相关。我们发现母乳喂养持续时间与智商和教育程度呈剂量反应关系。在混杂因素调整分析中，与母乳喂养少于 1 个月的参与者相比，母乳喂养 12 个月或更长时间的参与者智商得分更高（差异为 3.76 分，95%CI2.20-5.33）、受教育年限更长（0.91 年，0.42-1.40），月收入更高（341.0 巴西雷亚尔，93.8-588.3）。我们的中介分析结果表明，智商解释了收入影响的 72%。
母乳喂养与 30 年后智力测试表现的提高有关，并且通过提高成年后的受教育程度和收入，可能对现实生活产生重要影响。
惠康信托基金会、国际发展研究中心（加拿大）、CNPq、FAPERGS 和巴西卫生部。
