Evidence suggests that breast fed infants have a significantly lower risk of developing obesity, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, when compared to formula fed infants. This is interesting because these disorders increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and therefore infant nutrition may have some effects on cardiac physiology or the associated vasculature. Research has shown that breastfeeding can improve some parameters of vascular function later in life such as endothelial function and may provide protection against atherosclerosis. However, some doubt remains as to how the duration of breastfeeding relates to these protective effects. Some studies have shown that a longer duration of breastfeeding is associated with deleterious effects such as increased pulse wave velocity and decreased epithelial distensibility. Therefore, the exact relationship between breastfeeding and future cardiovascular risk is still not fully understood, and the implications in later life are unclear.
The carotid-intima-media thickness (CIMT) is one vascular parameters that has been investigated by researchers1 with regard breastfeeding. Measurements of the CIMT were performed in 306 children (age 5y), and then existing records were used to obtain information on their infant feeding behaviours. The results showed that breastfeeding for 3 to 6 months when an infant was associated with a 21.1µm greater CIMT when compared to infants fed formula. This was equivalent to 0.56 increase in standard deviations for CIMT. However, when infants were breast fed for <3 months or >6 months, there was no different in the CIMT. There was also no difference between the stiffness of the carotid artery between the two groups. Interestingly, adjustment for infection reduced the statistical significance of the results, suggesting that the benefits of breast feeding may relate to improved immunity, possibly through supply of antibodies in the breast milk.
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