Association of Breastfeeding Duration with Body Composition in Children Aged 3–5 Years

Objective This study aimed to assess the relationship between the body composition of children aged 3–5 years and breastfeeding status and duration.Methods The study was conducted using data from the National Nutrition and Health Systematic Survey for children 0–17 years of age in China(CNHSC),a nationwide cross-sectional study.Breastfeeding information and potential confounders were collected using standardized questionnaires administered through face-to-face interviews.The body composition of preschool children was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis.A multivariate linear regression model was used to assess the relationship between breastfeeding duration and body composition after adjusting for potential confounders.Results In total,2,008 participants were included in the study.Of these,89.2%were ever breastfed and the median duration of breastfeeding was 12 months(IQR 7–15 months).Among children aged 3 years,the height-for-age Z-score(HAZ)for the ever breastfed group was lower than that for never breastfed group(0.12 vs.0.42,P=0.043).In addition,the weight-for-age Z-score(WAZ)of the ever breastfed group was lower than that of the never breastfed group(0.31 vs.0.65,P=0.026),and the WAZ was lower in children aged 4 years who breastfed between 12 and 23 months than in those who never breastfed.Compared to the formula-fed children,the fat-free mass of breastfed infants was higher for children aged 3 years(12.84 kg vs.12.52 kg,P=0.015)and lower for those aged 4 years(14.31 kg vs.14.64 kg,P=0.048),but no difference was detected for children aged 5 years(16.40 kg vs.16.42 kg,P=0.910)after adjusting for potential confounders.No significant difference was detected in the weight-for-height Z-score(WHZ),body mass index(BMI)-for-age Z-score(BAZ),fat-free mass index,and body fat indicators in the ever breastfed and never breastfed groups and among various breastfeeding duration groups for children aged 3–5 years.Conclusion No obvious associations were detected between breastfeeding duration,BMI,and fat mass indicators.Future prospective studies should explore the relationship between breastfeeding status and fat-free mass.

Neurodevelopmental in Relation to Breastfeeding–Experiences among Hungarian Preterm Infants at 12 Months of Corrected Age:Empirical Study

Preterm and low birth weight infants are at higher risk of neurodevelopmental outcomes;breastfeeding offers sev-eral beneficial aspects for them.This study aimed to describe the average neurodevelopmental outcomes of pre-term infants and examine the associations between neurodevelopment and breastfeeding among Hungarian preterm infants at 12 months of corrected age.154 preterm infants with low birth weight(<2500 g)and their mothers were participated in this study.Bayley-III Screening Test(Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Develop-ment Screening Test,Third Edition)was administered to measure the cognitive,language and motor skills of infants;breastfeeding data was obtained through parental anamnesis.To analyze data,independent sample t-test or the Welch t-test,Mann-Whitney tests,Chi-square tests of independence and Spearman’s rank correlation test were used to.Concerning the risk of developmental delay,Receptive and Expressive language and Fine motor subscales were the lowest.Examination of the associations between breastfeeding and neurodevelopmental per-formance identified significantly higher cognitive(U=2047.5;P=0.023)andfine motor(U=2096.0;P=0.037)skills in infants who were breastfed.We found significant positive correlations between the duration of breastfeeding and cognitive,expressive language andfine motor skills.The study draws the attention to the importance of breastfeeding and early screening.Further research is required to examine the casual relationship between neurodevelopmental outcomes and breastfeeding.