Breast feeding and timing of puberty in boys and girls: A nationwide cohort study. Issue 5 (26th May 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Breast feeding and timing of puberty in boys and girls: A nationwide cohort study. Issue 5 (26th May 2021)
- Main Title:
- Breast feeding and timing of puberty in boys and girls: A nationwide cohort study
- Authors:
- Hvidt, Julie J.
Brix, Nis
Ernst, Andreas
Lunddorf, Lea L.H.
Ramlau‐Hansen, Cecilia H. - Abstract:
- Abstract: Background: Breast feeding has been associated with improved infant health, but its impact on pubertal timing remains uncertain, particularly in boys. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between duration of breast feeding and pubertal timing in boys and girls. Methods: This population‐based cohort study included 13 511 boys and girls from the Puberty Cohort nested within the Danish National Birth Cohort. The children gave half‐yearly, self‐reported information on pubertal development through questionnaires (Tanner stages, age at menarche, first ejaculation, voice break, axillary hair growth, and acne). Information on breast feeding was provided by the mothers when the children were 6 months of age. We estimated mean differences (in months) in age at attaining each pubertal marker and for overall timing of puberty (combined estimate) for every additional month of exclusive breast feeding. Furthermore, we estimated differences in pubertal age when comparing children never exclusively breastfed and exclusively breastfed <4 months using children exclusively breastfed ≥4 months as reference. In sub‐analyses, we further adjusted for infant weight gain and childhood BMI at 7 years to investigate whether these variables mediated the association. Results: Boys tended to reach pubertal markers later for every additional month of exclusive breast feeding (combined estimate: 0.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.0, 0.4 months). NeverAbstract: Background: Breast feeding has been associated with improved infant health, but its impact on pubertal timing remains uncertain, particularly in boys. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between duration of breast feeding and pubertal timing in boys and girls. Methods: This population‐based cohort study included 13 511 boys and girls from the Puberty Cohort nested within the Danish National Birth Cohort. The children gave half‐yearly, self‐reported information on pubertal development through questionnaires (Tanner stages, age at menarche, first ejaculation, voice break, axillary hair growth, and acne). Information on breast feeding was provided by the mothers when the children were 6 months of age. We estimated mean differences (in months) in age at attaining each pubertal marker and for overall timing of puberty (combined estimate) for every additional month of exclusive breast feeding. Furthermore, we estimated differences in pubertal age when comparing children never exclusively breastfed and exclusively breastfed <4 months using children exclusively breastfed ≥4 months as reference. In sub‐analyses, we further adjusted for infant weight gain and childhood BMI at 7 years to investigate whether these variables mediated the association. Results: Boys tended to reach pubertal markers later for every additional month of exclusive breast feeding (combined estimate: 0.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.0, 0.4 months). Never exclusively breastfed boys reached pubertal markers earlier than the boys exclusively breastfed ≥4 months (combined estimate: −4.1 (95% CI −6.7, −1.6) months). Boys exclusively breastfed <4 months also reached pubertal markers earlier than those never exclusively breastfed but with smaller differences. In girls, duration of breast feeding was not associated with pubertal development. When including infant weight gain or childhood BMI, the results remained essentially unchanged. Conclusions: Shorter duration of exclusive breast feeding was associated with earlier pubertal development in boys but not in girls. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology. Volume 35:Issue 5(2021)
- Journal:
- Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology
- Issue:
- Volume 35:Issue 5(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 35, Issue 5 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 35
- Issue:
- 5
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0035-0005-0000
- Page Start:
- 578
- Page End:
- 589
- Publication Date:
- 2021-05-26
- Subjects:
- breast feeding -- pubertal timing -- puberty -- tanner stages
Pediatrics -- Periodicals
Perinatology -- Periodicals
Pediatric epidemiology -- Periodicals
Infants (Newborn) -- Diseases -- Periodicals
618.92 - Journal URLs:
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-3016 ↗
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1111/ppe.12767 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0269-5022
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 6333.399710
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library STI - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 18524.xml