Breastfeeding in Infancy and Adult Health: A Narrative Review
Eleftherios Panteris, Ioanna Kakatsaki, Ourania Galani, Zoi Koukou, Eleftheria Hatzidaki

TL;DR
Breastfeeding in infancy is linked to small long-term health benefits in adulthood, such as lower risk of heart disease and diabetes, but these effects are modest compared to other lifestyle factors.
Contribution
The paper provides a narrative review showing that breastfeeding has small but consistent associations with better adult cardiometabolic and neurobehavioral outcomes.
Findings
Breastfeeding is associated with modest reductions in adult cardiometabolic risk factors like adiposity and type 2 diabetes.
Genetic studies suggest a protective association with coronary outcomes, but limited mediation via lipid pathways.
Breastfeeding is linked to small improvements in cognitive performance and educational attainment.
Abstract
What are the main findings? Breastfeeding in infancy is consistently associated with small favourable shifts in adult cardiometabolic risk (adiposity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes) across large cohorts.Genetic epidemiology (including Mendelian randomisation) generally supports a modest protective association with coronary outcomes, but suggests limited mediation via lipids and substantial confounding in observational estimates. Breastfeeding in infancy is consistently associated with small favourable shifts in adult cardiometabolic risk (adiposity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes) across large cohorts. Genetic epidemiology (including Mendelian randomisation) generally supports a modest protective association with coronary outcomes, but suggests limited mediation via lipids and substantial confounding in observational estimates. What are the implications of the main…
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Taxonomy
TopicsBreastfeeding Practices and Influences · Birth, Development, and Health · Cancer Risks and Factors
