Infant diet and metabolic outcomes in school-age children. The Generation R Study

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding duration is associated with the risks of cardio-metabolic diseases in adulthood. We examined the associations of infant feeding patterns with metabolic outcomes in children and whether any association was explained by family-based socio-demographic, maternal lifestyle-related or childhood factors. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We performed a population-based prospective cohort study in 3417 children to examine the associations of breastfeeding duration and exclusivity and age at introduction of solid foods with blood levels of lipids, insulin and C-peptide and risk of clustering of cardio-metabolic risk factors at the median age of 6.0 years (90% range 5.7-6.8). RESULTS: We observed that, in the models only adjusted for child's age and sex, ever breastfeeding was not associated with childhood blood levels of lipids but was associated with higher insulin and C-peptide concentrations (P-value < 0.05). Breastfeeding duration and exclusivity were not consistently associated with metabolic outcomes. Early introduction of solid foods was associated with higher levels of total cholesterol (P-value < 0.05) but not with high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin levels. Shorter breastfeeding duration and exclusive breastfeeding were associated with increased risks of clustering of cardio-metabolic risk factors. After additional adjustment for family, maternal and childhood factors, none of these associations remained significant. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, we found no consistent associations of infant feeding patterns with metabolic outcomes at school age, after taking into account family-based socio-demographic, maternal lifestyle-related or childhood factors. Whether infant diet composition influences metabolic outcomes in later life should be further studied.