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Vascular Medicine
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research-article

The beneficial effects of breastfeeding on microvascular function in 11- to 14-year-old children

Faisel Khan

Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases Research Unit, The Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, f.khan{at}dundee.ac.uk

Fiona C Green

Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases Research Unit, The Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School; Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary

J Stewart Forsyth

Tayside Institute of Child Health, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School

Stephen A Greene

Tayside Institute of Child Health, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School

David J Newton

Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases Research Unit, The Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School

Jill JF Belch

Vascular and Inflammatory Diseases Research Unit, The Institute of Cardiovascular Research, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School

Abstract

Infant feeding practices have an impact on health in later life, although the evidence for its effects on cardiovascular health is not so clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between breastfeeding in infancy and vascular function in later childhood. Infant feeding data, together with demographic and clinical information, were obtained prospectively from a cohort of children from birth until 2 years of age. Vascular function was assessed in 159 children, now aged 11–14 years, by measuring their skin microvascular responses to iontophoretic administration of the endothelium-dependent vasodilator acetylcholine. Endothelial function was significantly better in children who had been breastfed than in those who had received infant milk formula (p = 0.001), after adjustment for potential confounding factors. Linear regression showed that acetylcholine responses were significantly related to the duration of breastfeeding (r = 0.30, p = 0.006). The risk of later cardiovascular disease may be reduced by exclusively breastfeeding during infancy. These findings have potential public health implications, and support policies aimed at promoting breastfeeding.

Key Words: breastfeeding • cardiovascular disease • children • endothelium • infancy • nutrition • public health

Vascular Medicine, Vol. 14, No. 2, 137-142 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1358863X08099706
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