Infant Feeding and Risk of Type 1 Diabetes in Two Large Scandinavian Birth Cohorts

Abstract

OBJECTIVEOur aim was to study the relation between the duration of full and any breastfeeding and risk of type 1 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSWe included two population-based cohorts of children followed from birth (1996–2009) to 2014 (Denmark) or 2015 (Norway). We analyzed data from a total of 155,392 children participating in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). Parents reported infant dietary practices when their child was 6 and 18 months old. The outcome was clinical type 1 diabetes, ascertained from nationwide childhood diabetes registries. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated using Cox regression.RESULTSType 1 diabetes was identified in 504 children during follow-up, and the incidence of type 1 diabetes per 100,000 person-years was 30.5 in the Norwegian cohort and 23.5 in the Danish cohort. Children who were never breastfed had a twofold increased risk of type 1 diabetes compared with those who were breastfed (HR 2.29 [95% CI 1.14–4.61] for no breastfeeding vs. any breastfeeding for ≥12 months). Among those who were breastfed, however, the incidence of type 1 diabetes was independent of duration of both full breastfeeding (HR per month 0.99 [95% CI 0.97–1.01]) and any breastfeeding (0.97 [0.92–1.03]).CONCLUSIONSSuggestive evidence supports the contention that breastfeeding reduces the risk of type 1 diabetes. Among those who were breastfed, however, no evidence indicated that prolonging full or any breastfeeding was associated with a reduced risk of type 1 diabetes.

Effect of Hydrolyzed Infant Formula vs Conventional Formula on Risk of Type 1 Diabetes

“…11,12 However, a recently published study involving children from the general population showed that no breastfeeding was related to an increased risk of diabetes compared with infants with history of any breastfeeding. 25 …”

Can dietary strategies in early life prevent childhood food allergy? A report from two iFAAM workshops

“…For the peanut studies, the LEAP study gave 6-g peanut protein per week, 30,31 whereas the EAT study used 4 g of peanut protein. 32 Timing of introduction of allergen solid(s)-the egg studies have all introduced this allergen at 4-6 months of age, [22][23][24][25][26] whilst the peanut study introduced the allergen from 4-11 months (mean 7.8 months). 27,28 In the EAT study, allergenic foods were introduced between 4 and 6 months except for cow's milk which was introduced from 3 months.…”

Association between Bioactive Molecules in Breast Milk and Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

“…The role of breast milk in the aetiology and prevention of T1DM is controversial, with certain studies showing a protective effect and others reporting predisposing or no effects at all. [13][14][15] In 15 Many factors, particularly the experimental designs of these studies and variations in breastfeeding patterns in different countries, could be responsible for these inconsistent results. However, studies that report weak or negative effects usually monitor breastfeeding to an imprecise degree, without considering whether breastfeeding is exclusive or complementary.…”