Breastfeeding Duration Linked to Better Performance on Intelligence Tests Later in Life
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IT Stock Free/Polka Dot/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Researchers found a link between the length of time a child is breastfed with their performance on intelligence tests 30 years later, and perhaps with their income and educational attainment later in life.
According to a study, published in The Lancet Global Health, researchers launched a study involving more than 5,000 neonatal patients in Brazil. Thirty years later, information regarding the IQ and breastfeeding duration was available for 3,493 patients.
Researchers say that the durations of both total breastfeeding and predominant breastfeeding — the period of time when breastfeeding is the main form of nutrition — were positively associated with IQ, educational attainment and income. Those patients who had been breastfed for 12 months or more had higher IQ scores, more years of education and higher monthly incomes than those who were breastfed for under one month.
The study does note that the higher IQ was, at least in part, responsible for the higher levels of income.
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