Breast feeding and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in children.

Abstract

We have evaluated the hypothesis of a protective effect of human milk on the development of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). We studied the feeding histories of 95 diabetic children and compared them with controls consisting of their non-diabetic siblings and a pair matched group of nondiabetic peers of the same age, sex, geographical location, and social background. The incidence of breast feeding in diabetic children was 18%. This was similar to the control group. The duration of breast feedings was also similar among all three groups. There was no difference in the age of introduction of solid food between diabetic and nondiabetic children. Twice as many diabetic children, however, received soy containing formula in infancy as compared to control children. The mean age of onset of IDDM was not related to the type of feeding during infancy. The incidence of positive thyroid antibodies was two and one half times higher in formula-fed diabetic children than in breast-fed ones. In our studies we were unable to document any relationship between the history of breast feeding and subsequent development of IDDM in children.

Early and Late Effects of Breast-Feeding: Does Breast-Feeding Really Matter?

“…Although this observation was not confirmed by three subsequent studies [87][88][89], two additional studies published in 1988, one from Australia [90] and the other from the United States (Colorado) [91], support the original report [86]. An association between extent and duration of breast-feeding and lower incidence of IDDM was subsequently reported in other studies from Sweden [92], Finland [93], Hungary [94], and the United States [95].…”

Genes Mediating Environment Interactions in Type 1 Diabetes

“…Several groups, working in both human and animal models, set about trying to confirm this finding with inconsistent results. Fort et al could find no relationship between breast-feeding history and T1D [120] while others found that children with diabetes had been breast-fed over less time, on average, than non-diabetic children [121][122][123]. Similarly, a two-fold increase in diabetes incidence has been observed when the duration of breast-feeding was less than 3-4 months [reviewed in 124,125,107], or when the infant was exposed to CM formula before 2-3 months of age [126,127].…”

Could the aetiology of IDDM be multifactorial?

“…They proposed that breast-feeding provides maternal antibodies to prevent diabetogenic infections [25]. Three studies from Italy, New York, and the United Kingdom failed to support the hypothesis [26][27][28].…”

“…The associations found in those studies suggesting a link to duration of breast-feeding are marginal with odds ratios in the 1.4 to 1.8 range [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35].…”