Leanne Wynne
Midwife in charge of "Women's Business"
Mildura Aboriginal Health Service Mob 0418 371862
Breast-Feeding Duration Linked to Alcoholism in Adulthood
Reuters Health Information 2006. © 2006 Reuters Ltd.
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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 21 - Early weaning, along with a number of
factors, appears to predispose adults to alcohol abuse and hospitalization
for an alcohol-related diagnosis, according to data from the Copenhagen
Perinatal Cohort.
Previous research demonstrated a link between short duration of
breast-feeding and alcoholism in men, Dr. Holger J. Sorenson and colleagues
at Copenhagen University and the US examined this relationship in a larger
cohort that included women and took into account other environmental and
familial factors.
The Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort includes 3245 men and 3317 women born
between 1959 and 1961. Thirty-four percent of offspring had been breast-fed
for no more than 1 month, according to the report in the American Journal of
Psychiatry for April.
After follow-up through 1999, the researchers found that 98 men (4%) and 40
women (1.2%) were hospitalized with an alcohol-related diagnosis. Of the 138
cases, 2.8% were weaned by 1 month and 1.7% were breast-fed for longer
periods (odds ratio 1.65).
The investigators report that "significant predictors in the multivariate
model were male gender, maternal prenatal smoking, unwanted pregnancy (at
the time of conception), maternal psychiatric hospitalization for alcohol
abuse, maternal psychiatric hospitalization with other diagnoses, and low
parental social status when the child was 1 year old."
After controlling for all covariates, there was still an increased
likelihood of alcohol abuse associated with early weaning (odds ratio 1.47).
Dr. Sorenson's group proposes several factors that could explain the
relationship between early weaning and alcohol abuse, such as decreased
physical and psychological contact between the mother and the infant.
The researchers add that low intelligence and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder are associated with short duration of breast-feeding,
and may increase the risk of alcoholism.
They also note that breast milk contains long-chain polyunsaturated fatty
acids and that a decrease could affect brain development.
Am J Psychiatry 2006;163:704-709.
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