Infant feeding in Finnish children less than 7 yr of age with newly diagnosed IDDM. Childhood Diabetes in Finland Study Group

• Published in: Diabetes care Vol. 14; no. 5; pp. 415 - 417
• Main Authors: S M Virtanen, L Räsänen, A Aro, J Lindström, H Sippola, R Lounamaa, L Toivanen, J Tuomilehto, H K Akerblom
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Diabetes Association 01.05.1991
• Subjects: Breast Feeding; Child; Child, Preschool; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - etiology; Finland; Humans; Infant; Infant Food; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Reference Values; Risk Factors; Time Factors; Finland
• ISSN: 0149-5992; 1935-5548
• DOI: 10.2337/diacare.14.5.415

Infant feeding in Finnish children less than 7 yr of age with newly diagnosed IDDM. Childhood Diabetes in Finland Study Group. S M Virtanen , L Räsänen , A Aro , J Lindström , H Sippola , R Lounamaa , L Toivanen , J Tuomilehto and H K Akerblom Abstract OBJECTIVE: We studied associations between the type of feeding in infancy and the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We studied 103 newly diagnosed diabetic children less than 7 yr of age and 103 age- and sex-matched population-based control children in a countrywide study. Results: The risk of IDDM was decreased (P less than 0.05) among children breast-fed for at least 7 mo (odds ratio [OR] 0.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.24-0.85) or exclusively breast-fed for at least 3 (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.13-0.84) or 4 (OR 0.43, 95% CI 0.22-0.84) mo. Also, children who were greater than or equal to 4 mo old at the time of introduction of supplementary milk feeding had a lower risk of diabetes (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26-0.91). CONCLUSIONS: The protective effects of a long duration of breast-feeding and a late introduction of dairy products on the risk of IDDM remained significant after adjusting for the mother's education.