Breastfeeding and its prospective association with components of the GH-IGF-Axis, insulin resistance and body adiposity measures in young adulthood--insights from linear and quantile regression analysis

Anke L B Günther; Helena Walz; Anja Kroke; Stefan A Wudy; Christina Riedel; Rüdiger von Kries; Gesa Joslowski; Thomas Remer; Guo Cheng; Anette E Buyken

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079436

Breastfeeding and its prospective association with components of the GH-IGF-Axis, insulin resistance and body adiposity measures in young adulthood--insights from linear and quantile regression analysis

PLoS One. 2013 Nov 13;8(11):e79436. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079436. eCollection 2013.

Authors

Anke L B Günther¹, Helena Walz, Anja Kroke, Stefan A Wudy, Christina Riedel, Rüdiger von Kries, Gesa Joslowski, Thomas Remer, Guo Cheng, Anette E Buyken

Affiliation

¹ Fulda University of Applied Sciences, Department of Nutritional, Food and Consumer Sciences, Fulda, Germany.

Abstract

Background: Breastfeeding may lower chronic disease risk by long-term effects on hormonal status and adiposity, but the relations remain uncertain.

Objective: To prospectively investigate the association of breastfeeding with the growth hormone- (GH) insulin-like growth factor- (IGF) axis, insulin sensitivity, body composition and body fat distribution in younger adulthood (18-37 years).

Design: Data from 233 (54% female) participants of a German cohort, the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) Study, with prospective data on infant feeding were analyzed. Multivariable linear as well as quantile regression were performed with full breastfeeding (not: ≤ 2, short: 3-17, long: >17 weeks) as exposure and adult IGF-I, IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) -1, -2, -3, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), fat mass index, fat-free mass index, and waist circumference as outcomes.

Results: After adjustment for early life and socio-economic factors, women who had been breastfed longer displayed higher adult IGFBP-2 (p(trend) = 0.02) and lower values of HOMA-IR (p(trend) = 0.004). Furthermore, in women breastfeeding duration was associated with a lower mean fat mass index (p(trend) = 0.01), fat-free mass index (p(trend) = 0.02) and waist circumference (p(trend) = 0.004) in young adulthood. However, there was no relation to IGF-I, IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3 (all p(trend) > 0.05). Associations for IGFBP-2 and fat mass index were more pronounced at higher, for waist circumference at very low or high percentiles of the distribution. In men, there was no consistent relation of breastfeeding with any outcome.

Conclusions: Our data suggest that breastfeeding may have long-term, favorable effects on extremes of adiposity and insulin metabolism in women, but not in men. In both sexes, breastfeeding does not seem to induce programming of the GH-IGF-axis.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adiposity*
Adolescent
Adult
Body Composition
Breast Feeding*
Female
Germany
Human Growth Hormone / metabolism*
Humans
Infant
Infant, Newborn
Insulin Resistance*
Male
Prospective Studies
Regression Analysis
Sex Factors
Somatomedins / metabolism*
Young Adult

Substances

Somatomedins
Human Growth Hormone

Grants and funding

This analysis was funded by the Wereld Kanker Onderzoek Fonds (WCRF NL), grant no. 2010/248, as part of the WCRF International grant programme (www.wcrf-nl.org). The quantile regression analysis was supported by the Kompetenznetz Adipositas (Competence Network Obesity) funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany, FKZ: 01GI1121A (www.kompetenznetz-adipositas.de). The DONALD Study is supported by the Ministry of Science and Research of North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.