NEUROLOGICAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 9-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN FED BREAST-MILK OR FORMULA-MILK AS BABIES

The presence of minor neurological dysfunction is associated with beha vioural and cognitive development at school age. We have previously sh own a relation between minor neurological dysfunction and perinatal di sorders, especially abnormal neonatal neurological condition. We have now investigated the relation between breastfeeding and long-term neur ological development. We studied 135 breastfed (for greater than or eq ual to 3 weeks) and 391 formula-fed children, born at term in the Univ ersity Hospital Groningen between 1975 and 1979. A standard neonatal n eurological examination was used to classify the infants as normal (24 7), slightly abnormal (213), or frankly abnormal (66). At 9 years of a ge the children were reexamined. In 1993 their mothers were asked to c omplete a questionnaire about how the children were fed as infants. Af ter adjustment for obstetric, perinatal, neonatal neurological, and so cial differences, a small advantageous effect of breastfeeding on neur ological status at 9 years of age was found (odds ratio for neurologic al non-normality 0.54 [95% Cl 0.30-0.97]). Although a retrospective de sign cannot lead to definite conclusions, our data suggest a beneficia l effect of breastfeeding on postnatal neurological development. Longe r-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are present in breast-milk but not in most formula-milks, may have a role since they are vital fo r brain development.