Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T01:53:21.760Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Association between breastfeeding and better preserved cognitive ability in an elderly cohort of Finnish men

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2017

V. Rantalainen ,
J. Lahti ,
M. Henriksson ,
E. Kajantie ,
M. Mikkonen ,
J. G. Eriksson  and
K. Raikkonen
V. Rantalainen*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Folkhälsan Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland
J. Lahti
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Folkhälsan Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland
M. Henriksson
Affiliation:
Department of Health Care Supervision, National Supervisory Authority of Welfare and Health, Helsinki, Finland Center of Military Medicine, Helsinki, Finland
E. Kajantie
Affiliation:
Diabetes Prevention Unit, Division of Welfare and Health Promotion, Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Oulu University Hospital and University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
M. Mikkonen
Affiliation:
Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
J. G. Eriksson
Affiliation:
Folkhälsan Research Centre, Helsinki, Finland Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Helsinki and Helsinki University Hospital, Helsinki, Finland Vasa Central Hospital, Vasa, Finland
K. Raikkonen
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
*
*Address for correspondence: V. Rantalainen, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, University of Helsinki, P.O Box 9 (Siltavuorenpenger 1 A), University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland. (Email: ville.rantalainen@helsinki.fi)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background

Being breastfed in infancy has been shown to benefit neurodevelopment. However, whether the benefits persist to old age remains unclear.

Methods

We examined the associations between breastfeeding and its duration on cognitive ability in young adulthood and old age, and on aging-related cognitive change over five decades. In total, 931 men from the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study born in 1934–1944 in Finland took the Finnish Defence Forces Basic Intellectual Ability Test (total and verbal, arithmetic and visuospatial subtest scores) twice, at ages 20.2 and 67.9 years, and had data on breastfeeding (yes v. no) and its duration (‘never breastfed’, ‘up to 3’, ‘3 to 6’ and ‘6 or more months’). Linear and mixed model regressions tested the associations.

Results

At 20.2 years, breastfed men had higher cognitive ability total and visuospatial subtest scores [mean differences (MDs) ranged between 3.0–3.9, p values < 0.013], and its longer duration predicted higher cognitive ability total and arithmetic and visuospatial subtest scores (MDs ranged between 3.0 and 4.8, p values < 0.039). At 67.9 years, breastfed men had higher total cognitive ability and all subtest scores (MDs ranged between 2.6 and 3.4, p values < 0.044) and its longer duration predicted all cognitive ability scores (MDs ranged between 3.1 and 4.7, p values < 0.050). Verbal subtest scores decreased over five decades in men who were never breastfed or were breastfed for 3 months or less, and increased in those breastfed for longer than 3 months.

Conclusions

Neurodevelopmental advantages of breastfeeding and its longer duration persist into old age, and longer duration of breastfeeding may benefit aging-related change, particularly in verbal reasoning ability.

Keywords

Breast feedingcognitioncognitive abilitycognitive agingcohort studiesintelligencelongitudinal studies.
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 48 , Issue 6 , April 2018 , pp. 939 - 951
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barker, DJ, Osmond, C, Forsén, TJ, Kajantie, E, Eriksson, JG (2005). Trajectories of growth among children who have coronary events as adults. New England Journal of Medicine 353, 1802–1809.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Britton, JR, Britton, HL, Gronwaldt, V (2006). Breastfeeding, sensitivity, and attachment. Pediatrics 118, e1436–e1443.Google Scholar
Caspi, A, Williams, B, Kim-Cohen, J, Craig, IW, Milne, BJ, Poulton, R, Schalkwyk, LC, Taylor, A, Werts, H, Moffitt, TE (2007). Moderation of breastfeeding effects on the IQ by genetic variation in fatty acid metabolism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104, 18860–18865.Google Scholar
Charbonneau, MR, O'Donnell, D, Blanton, LV, Totten, SM, Davis, JCC, Barratt, MJ, Cheng, J, Guruge, J, Talcott, M, Bain, JR, Muehlbauer, MJ, Ilkayeva, O, Wu, C, Struckmeyer, T, Barlie, D, Mangani, C, Jorgensen, J, Fan, Y, Maieta, K, Dewey, KG, Ashom, P, Newgard, CB, Lebrilla, C, Mills, DA, Gordon, JI (2016). Sialylated milk oligosaccharides promote microbiota-dependent growth in models of infant undernutrition. Cell 164, 859–871.Google Scholar
Crawford, MA (1993). The role of essential fatty acids in neural development: implications for perinatal nutrition. American Journal of Clinical Nutritrion 57, 7035–7095.Google Scholar
Cryan, JF, Dinan, T (2012). Mind-altering microorganisms: the impact of the gut microbiota on brain and behaviour. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 13, 701–712.Google Scholar
Eriksson, JG, Osmond, C, Kajantie, E, Forsén, TJ, Barker, DJ (2006). Patterns of growth among children who later develop type 2 diabetes or its risk factors. Diabetologia 49, 2853–2858.Google Scholar
Ewaschuck, JB, Diaz, H, Meddings, L, Diederichs, B, Dmytrash, A, Backer, J, Looijer-van Langen, M, Madsen, KL (2008). Secreted bioactive factors from Bifidobacterium infantis enhance epithelial cell barrier function. American Journal of Physiology Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology 295, G1025–G1034.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Farquharson, J, Cockburn, F, Patrick, WA, Jamieson, EC, Logan, RW (1992). Infant cerebral cortex phospholipid fatty-acid composition and diet. Lancet 340, 810–813.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, R, Weller, A, Sirota, L, Eidelman, A (2002). Skin-to-skin contact (kangaroo care) promotes self-regulation in premature infants: sleep-wake cyclicity, arousal modulation, and sustained exploration. Developmental Psychology 38, 194–207.Google Scholar
Fukuda, S, Toh, H, Hase, K, Oshima, K, Nakanishi, Y, Yoshimura, K, Tobe, T, Clarke, JM, Topping, DL, Suzuki, T, Taylor, TD, Itoh, K, Kikuchi, J, Morita, H, Hattori, M, Ohno, H (2011). Bifidobacteria can protect from enteropathogenic infection through production of acetate. Nature 469, 543–547.Google Scholar
Gale, CR, Martyn, CN (1996). Breastfeeding, dummy use, and adult intelligence. Lancet 347, 1072–1075.Google Scholar
Gibbs, BG, Forste, R (2014). Breastfeeding, parenting, and early cognitive development. Journal of Pediatrics 164, 487–493.Google Scholar
Goldstein Ferber, S, Makhoul, IR (2004). The effect of skin-to-skin contact (Kangaroo Care) shortly after birth on the neurobehavioral responses of the term newborn: a randomized, controlled trial. Pediatrics 113, 858–865.Google Scholar
Habib, R, Nyberg, L, Nilsson, LG (2007). Cognitive and non-cognitive factors contributing to the longitudinal identification of successful older adults in the Betula study. Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition 14, 257–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horta, BL, Victora, CG (2013). Long-term Effects of Breastfeeding: A Systematic Review. World Health Organization: Geneva.Google Scholar
Huda, MN, Lewis, Z, Kalanetra, KM, Rashid, M, Ahmad, SM, Raqib, R, Qadri, F, Underwood, MA, Mills, DA, Stephensen, CB (2014). Stool microbiota and vaccine responses of infants. Pediatrics 134, e362–e372.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kajantie, E, Barker, DJP, Osmond, C, Forsén, T, Eriksson, JG (2008). Growth before 2 years of age and serum lipids 60 years later: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. International Journal of Epidemiology 37, 280–289.Google Scholar
Kajantie, E, Raikkonen, K, Henriksson, M, Leskinen, JT, Forsén, T, Heinonen, K, Pesonen, AK, Osmond, C, Barker, DJ, Eriksson, JG (2012). Stroke is predicted by low visuospatial in relation to other intellectual abilities and coronary heart disease by low general intelligence. PLoS ONE 7, e46841.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kramer, MS, Aboud, F, Mironova, E, Vanilovich, I, Platt, RW, Matush, L, Igumnov, S, Fombonne, E, Bogdanovich, N, Ducruet, T, Collet, JP, Chalmers, B, Hodnett, E, Davidovsky, S, Skugarevsky, O, Trofimovich, O, Kozlova, L, Shapiro, S, Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial (PROBIT) Study Group (2008). Breastfeeding and child cognitive development: new evidence from a large randomized trial. Archives of General Psychiatry 65, 578–584.Google Scholar
Martin, NW, Benyamin, B, Hansell, NK, Montgomery, GW, Martin, NG, Wright, MJ, Bates, TC (2011). Cognitive function in adolescence: testing for interactions between breast-feeding and FADS2 polymorphisms. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 50, 55–62.Google Scholar
Mortensen, EL, Michaelsen, KF, Sanders, SA, Reinisch, JM (2002). The association between duration of breastfeeding and adult intelligence. JAMA 287, 2365–2946.Google Scholar
Osmond, C, Kajantie, E, Forsén, TJ, Eriksson, JG, Barker, DJ (2007). Infant growth and stroke in adult life. The Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. Stroke 38, 264–270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, DC, Lautenchlager, G, Hedden, T, Davidson, NS, Smith, AD, Smith, PK (2002). Models of visuospatial and verbal memory across the adult life span. Psychology and Aging 17, 299–320.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pesonen, A-K, Eriksson, JG, Heinonen, K, Kajantie, E, Tuovinen, S, Alastalo, H, Henriksson, M, Leskinen, J, Osmond, C, Barker, DJ, Raikkonen, K (2013). Cognitive ability and decline after early life stress exposure. Neurobiology of Aging 34, 1674–1679.Google Scholar
Raikkonen, K, Forsén, T, Henriksson, M, Kajantie, E, Heinonen, K, Pesonen, AK, Leskinen, JT, Laaksonen, I, Osmond, C, Barker, DJ, Eriksson, JG (2009). Growth trajectories and intellectual abilities in young adulthood: the Helsinki Birth Cohort Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 170, 447–455.Google Scholar
Raikkonen, K, Kajantie, E, Pesonen, AK, Heinonen, K, Alastalo, H, Leskinen, JT, Nyman, K, Henriksson, M, Lahti, J, Lahti, M, Pyhälä, R, Tuovinen, S, Osmond, C, Barker, DJ, Eriksson, JG (2013). Early life origins cognitive decline: findings in elderly men in the Helsinki birth cohort study. PLoS ONE 8, e54707.Google Scholar
Raikkonen, K, Lahti, M, Heinonen, K, Pesonen, A-K, Wahlbeck, K, Kajantie, E, Osmond, C, Barker, DJP, Eriksson, JG (2011). Risk of severe mental disorders in adults separated temporarily from their parents in childhood: the Helsinki birth cohort study. Journal of Psychiatric Research 45, 332–338.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rantalainen, V, Lahti, J, Henriksson, M, Kajantie, E, Tienari, P, Eriksson, JG, Raikkonen, K (2016). APOE and aging-related cognitive change in a longitudinal cohort of men. Neurobiology of Aging 44, 151–158.Google Scholar
Raven, J (2000). The Raven's progressive matrices: change and stability over culture and time. Cognitive Psychology 41, 1–48.Google Scholar
Richards, M, Hardy, R, Wadsworth, MEJ (2002). Long-term effects of breast-feeding in a national birth cohort: educational attainment and midlife cognitive function. Public Health Nutrition 5, 631–635.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stern, Y (2009). Cognitive reserve. Neuropsychologia 47, 2015–2028.Google Scholar
Tiihonen, J, Haukka, J, Henriksson, M, Cannon, M, Kieseppä, T, Laaksonen, I, Sinivuo, J, Lönnqvist, J (2005). Premorbid intellectual functioning in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia: results from a cohort study of male conscripts. American Journal of Psychiatry 162, 1904–1910.Google Scholar
Van Dijk, KRA, Van Gerven, PWM, Van Boxtel, MPJ, Van der Elst, W, Jones, J (2008). No protective effects of education during normal cognitive aging: results from the 6-year follow-up of the Maastricht Aging Study. Psychology and Aging 23, 119–130.Google Scholar
Victora, CG, Horta, BL, de Mola, CL, Quevedo, L, Pinheiro, RT, Gigante, DP, Gonçalves, H, Barros, F (2015). Association between breastfeeding and intelligence, educational attainment, and income at 30 years of age: a prospective birth cohort study from Brazil. Lancet Global Health 3, e199–e205.Google Scholar
Walfisch, A, Sermer, C, Cressman, A, Koren, G (2013). Breast milk and cognitive development – the role of confounders: a systematic review. BMJ Open 3, e003259.Google Scholar
Wang, B, Brand-Miller, J, McVeagh, P, Petosz, P (2001). Concentration and distribution of sialic acid in human milk and infant formulas. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 74, 510–515.Google Scholar
Wigg, NR, Tong, S, McMichael, AJ, Baghurst, PA, Vimpani, G, Roberts, R (1998). Does breastfeeding at six months predict cognitive development? Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health 22, 232–236.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Rantalainen et al supplementary material

Table S1

Download Rantalainen et al supplementary material(File)
File 19.3 KB
Supplementary material: File

Rantalainen et al supplementary material

Table S2

Download Rantalainen et al supplementary material(File)
File 15.4 KB