Breastfeeding linked to lower diabetes risk (Deccan chronicle)

Breastfeeding linked to lower diabetes risk (Deccan chronicle)

Context

Women who breastfeed their babies for six months or more may be able to cut their risk of developing diabetes in the future by nearly half, according to a study Tuesday

About the study

• The findings are from a three-decade US study of more than 1,200 white and African-American women were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine

Findings

• Women who breastfed for six months or more across had a 47 percent reduction in their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, when compared to those who did not breastfeed at all
• For women who breastfed for six months or less, there was a 25 percent reduction in diabetes risk
• Researchers suggested that breastfeeding may unleash protective effects via hormones that act in the pancreas, controlling blood insulin levels and blood sugar
• The incidence of diabetes decreased in a graded manner as breastfeeding duration increased, regardless of race, gestational diabetes, lifestyle behaviors, body size, and other metabolic risk factors measured before pregnancy, implying the possibility that the underlying mechanism may be biological