(not) BF and Alcoholism

Breast-Feeding Duration Linked to Alcoholism in Adulthood

Reuters Health Information 2006. 2006 Reuters Ltd.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Apr 21 - Early weaning, along with a number
of factors, appears to predispose adults to alcohol abuse and
hospitalization for an alcohol-related diagnosis, according to data
from the Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort.

Previous research demonstrated a link between short duration of
breast-feeding and alcoholism in men, Dr. Holger J. Sorenson and
colleagues at Copenhagen University and the US examined this
relationship in a larger cohort that included women and took into
account other environmental and familial factors.

The Copenhagen Perinatal Cohort includes 3245 men and 3317 women born
between 1959 and 1961. Thirty-four percent of offspring had been
breast-fed for no more than 1 month, according to the report in the
American Journal of Psychiatry for April.

After follow-up through 1999, the researchers found that 98 men (4%)
and 40 women (1.2%) were hospitalized with an alcohol-related
diagnosis. Of the 138 cases, 2.8% were weaned by 1 month and 1.7% were
breast-fed for longer periods (odds ratio 1.65).

The investigators report that "significant predictors in the
multivariate model were male gender, maternal prenatal smoking,
unwanted pregnancy (at the time of conception), maternal psychiatric
hospitalization for alcohol abuse, maternal psychiatric hospitalization
with other diagnoses, and low parental social status when the child was
1 year old."

After controlling for all covariates, there was still an increased
likelihood of alcohol abuse associated with early weaning (odds ratio
1.47).

Dr. Sorenson's group proposes several factors that could explain the
relationship between early weaning and alcohol abuse, such as decreased
physical and psychological contact between the mother and the infant.

The researchers add that low intelligence and attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder are associated with short duration of
breast-feeding, and may increase the risk of alcoholism.

They also note that breast milk contains long-chain polyunsaturated
fatty acids and that a decrease could affect brain development.

Am J Psychiatry 2006;163:704-709.

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Woman, Wife, Mother, Midwife