Chd. Fall et al., RELATION OF INFANT-FEEDING TO ADULT SERUM-CHOLESTEROL CONCENTRATION AND DEATH FROM ISCHEMIC-HEART-DISEASE, BMJ. British medical journal, 304(6830), 1992, pp. 801-805
Objective - To examine whether method of infant feeding is associated
with adult serum lipid concentrations and mortality from ischaemic hea
rt disease. Design - Follow up study of men born during 1911-30. Setti
ng - Hertfordshire, England. Subjects - 5718 men, for 5471 of whom inf
ormation on infant feeding had been recorded by health visitors and 13
14 of whom had died. 485 of the men born during 1920-30 and still livi
ng in Hertfordshire who had blood lipid measurements.Main outcome meas
ures - Death from ischaemic heart disease; serum cholesterol and apoli
poprotein concentrations. Results - 474 men had died from ischaemic he
art disease. Standardised mortality ratios were 97 (95% confidence int
erval 81 to 115) in men who had been breast fed and had not been weane
d at 1 year, 79 (69 to 90) in breast fed men who had been weaned at 1
year, and 73 (59 to 89) in men who had been breast and bottle fed. Com
pared with men weaned before one year men not weaned had higher mean s
erum concentrations of total cholesterol (6-9 (not weaned) v 6.6 (wean
ed) mmol/l), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (5.0 v 4.6 mmol/l) an
d apolipoprotein B (1.14 v 1.08 g/l). Men who had been bottle fed also
had a high standardised mortality ratio for ischaemic heart disease (
95; 68 to 130) and high mean serum concentrations of total cholesterol
(7.0 mmol/l), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (5.1 mmol/l), and a
polipoprotein B (1.14 g/l). In all feeding groups serum apolipoprotein
B concentrations were lower in men with higher birth weight and weigh
t at 1 year. Conclusions - Age of weaning and method of infant feeding
may influence adult serum low density lipoprotein cholesterol concent
rations and mortality from ischaemic heart disease. Adult serum apolip
oprotein B concentrations are related to growth in fetal life and infa
ncy.