Summary: Researchers report there is no statistical evidence to suggest children between 3 – 5 years of age who were breastfed as infants have better cognitive abilities than those who were exclusively bottle fed.

Source: University College Dublin.

New research has found no evidence that breastfeeding boosts children’s intelligence or other cognitive abilities.

The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, run contrary to previous studies on breastfeeding that found that it does boost intelligence.

The researchers from University College Dublin (UCD), led by Dr Lisa-Christine Girard, analysed the effects of breastfeeding on children’s cognitive abilities, such as problem-solving and vocabulary, at ages three and five. They also looked at the effects of hyperactivity in children who breastfed.

The study involved 7,478 children at ages three and five who participated in the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study of children. The paper was published in the journal Pediatrics.

The investigators used a type of statistical analysis called “propensity score matching” (PSM) that accounted for certain factors that would make certain mothers more likely to breastfeed, such as socioeconomic status and level of education.

The researchers ensured the analysis separated the factors that influence children’s development and intelligence from breastfeeding itself.

Previous studies, for example, have shown that children from families of lower socioeconomic status are less likely to be breastfed.

By employing the PSM method, the researchers examined two groups of children, from similar family backgrounds, that were equally likely to be breastfed.

However, the children were divided into two groups – those who had breastfed and those who hadn’t.

After accounting for the socioeconomic factors, the scientists found that there was no statistically significant evidence that children at ages three and five who were breastfed as babies had gained more cognitive abilities than children who were bottle-fed.

It is widely accepted that breastfeeding has many health benefits for babies, such as protecting them from infection-related deaths and sudden infant death syndrome.

The analysis found that only three-year-olds who had breastfed for six months or more scored higher on tests of problem-solving and lower on tests for hyperactivity.

But after accounting for the other factors, the researchers found that the benefits for problem-solving between the two groups were not statistically significant.

They found children who were breastfed for six months or more had fewer problems with hyperactivity at the age of three.

However, this positive outcome for three-year-olds disappeared by the time they had reached the age of five. No evidence was found that breastfeeding improved or affected vocabulary at either age three or five.

The analysis also concluded that there were no statistically significant cognitive benefits at all for children who breastfed at the age of five.

Ireland has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the world. The Growing Up In Ireland study found that only 56 per cent of Irish mothers breastfed, compared to rates of around 90 per cent elsewhere in Europe.

About this psychology research article

Source: Jamie Deasy – University College Dublin

Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.

Original Research: Full open access research for “Breastfeeding, Cognitive and Noncognitive Development in Early Childhood: A Population Study” by Lisa-Christine Girard, Orla Doyle, and Richard E. Tremblay in Pediatrics. Published online March 2017 doi:10.1542/peds.2016-1848

Cite This NeuroscienceNews.com Article

[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]University College Dublin “Breastfeeding Does Not Necessarily Boost a Child’s Intelligence.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 3 April 2017.

<https://neurosciencenews.com/breastfeeding-intelligence-cognition-6327/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]University College Dublin (2017, April 3). Breastfeeding Does Not Necessarily Boost a Child’s Intelligence. NeuroscienceNew. Retrieved April 3, 2017 from https://neurosciencenews.com/breastfeeding-intelligence-cognition-6327/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]University College Dublin “Breastfeeding Does Not Necessarily Boost a Child’s Intelligence.” https://neurosciencenews.com/breastfeeding-intelligence-cognition-6327/ (accessed April 3, 2017).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]

Abstract

Breastfeeding, Cognitive and Noncognitive Development in Early Childhood: A Population Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is mixed evidence from correlational studies that breastfeeding impacts children’s development. Propensity score matching with large samples can be an effective tool to remove potential bias from observed confounders in correlational studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of breastfeeding on children’s cognitive and noncognitive development at 3 and 5 years of age.

METHODS: Participants included ∼8000 families from the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal infant cohort, who were identified from the Child Benefit Register and randomly selected to participate. Parent and teacher reports and standardized assessments were used to collect information on children’s problem behaviors, expressive vocabulary, and cognitive abilities at age 3 and 5 years. Breastfeeding information was collected via maternal report. Propensity score matching was used to compare the average treatment effects on those who were breastfed.

RESULTS: Before matching, breastfeeding was associated with better development on almost every outcome. After matching and adjustment for multiple testing, only 1 of the 13 outcomes remained statistically significant: children’s hyperactivity (difference score, –0.84; 95% confidence interval, –1.33 to –0.35) at age 3 years for children who were breastfed for at least 6 months. No statistically significant differences were observed postmatching on any outcome at age 5 years.



CONCLUSIONS: Although 1 positive benefit of breastfeeding was found by using propensity score matching, the effect size was modest in practical terms. No support was found for statistically significant gains at age 5 years, suggesting that the earlier observed benefit from breastfeeding may not be maintained once children enter school.

“Breastfeeding, Cognitive and Noncognitive Development in Early Childhood: A Population Study” by Lisa-Christine Girard, Orla Doyle, and Richard E. Tremblay in Pediatrics. Published online March 2017 doi:10.1542/peds.2016-1848

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