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Breast-feeding and childhood-onset type 1 diabetes: a pooled analysis of individual participant data from 43 observational studies

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 15:24 authored by Chris R Cardwell, Lars C Stene, Johnny Ludvigsson, Joachim Rosenbauer, Ondrej Cinek, Jannet Svensson, Francisco Perez-Bravo, Anjum MemonAnjum Memon, Suely G Gimeno, Emma J K Wadsworth, Elsa S Strotmeyer, Michael J Goldacre, Katja Radon, Lee-Ming Chuang, Roger C Parslow, Amanda Chetwynd, Kyriaki Karavanaki, Girts Brigis, Paolo Pozzilli, Brone Urbonaite, Edith Schober, Gabriele Devoti, Sandra Sipetic, Geir Joner, Constantin Ionescu-Tirgoviste, Carine E de Beaufort, Kirsten Harrild, Victoria Benson, Erkki Savilahti, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, Mona Salem, Samira Rabiei, Chris C Patterson
OBJECTIVE To investigate if there is a reduced risk of type 1 diabetes in children breastfed or exclusively breastfed by performing a pooled analysis with adjustment for recognized confounders. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Relevant studies were identified from literature searches using MEDLINE, Web of Science, and EMBASE. Authors of relevant studies were asked to provide individual participant data or conduct prespecified analyses. Meta-analysis techniques were used to combine odds ratios (ORs) and investigate heterogeneity between studies. RESULTS Data were available from 43 studies including 9,874 patients with type 1 diabetes. Overall, there was a reduction in the risk of diabetes after exclusive breast-feeding for >2 weeks (20 studies; OR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.64-0.88), the association after exclusive breast-feeding for >3 months was weaker (30 studies; OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.75-1.00), and no association was observed after (nonexclusive) breast-feeding for >2 weeks (28 studies; OR = 0.93, 95% CI 0.81-1.07) or >3 months (29 studies; OR = 0.88, 95% CI 0.78-1.00). These associations were all subject to marked heterogeneity (I(2) = 58, 76, 54, and 68%, respectively). In studies with lower risk of bias, the reduced risk after exclusive breast-feeding for >2 weeks remained (12 studies; OR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.75-0.99), and heterogeneity was reduced (I(2) = 0%). Adjustments for potential confounders altered these estimates very little. CONCLUSIONS The pooled analysis suggests weak protective associations between exclusive breast-feeding and type 1 diabetes risk. However, these findings are difficult to interpret because of the marked variation in effect and possible biases (particularly recall bias) inherent in the included studies.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Diabetes Care

ISSN

0149-5992

Publisher

American Diabetes Association

Issue

11

Volume

35

Page range

2215-25

Department affiliated with

  • Clinical and Experimental Medicine Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-07-17

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