Breastfeeding is associated with lower subclinical atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the association between a personal history of lactation and indices of subclinical atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women.

Methods: We evaluated the association between a history of breastfeeding and indices of subclinical atherosclerosis (pulse wave velocity, PWV; intima-media thickness [IMT]; atherosclerotic plaque presence) in 197 parous postmenopausal women with history of breastfeeding.

Results: Women who reported breastfeeding ≥6 months when compared with women who reported breastfeeding for 1–5 months exhibited significantly lower values of common carotid artery IMT (Model R²=15.7%, b-coefficient = −0.170, 95% CI: −0.208—0.001, p-value = .019) and lower odds of subclinical atherosclerosis (Model X²=28.127, OR = 0.491, 95% CI 0.318–0.999, p-value = .049), adjusting for traditional cardiovascular risk factors.

Conclusions: Postmenopausal women with a history of breastfeeding for at least 6 months have a lower prevalence of subclinical atherosclerosis, independently of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. A longer duration of breastfeeding may have a beneficial effect on subclinical atherosclerosis later in life.

摘要

目的：探讨绝经后妇女个人哺乳史与亚临床动脉粥样硬化指标之间的关系。

方法：对197例有母乳喂养史的绝经后妇女进行了亚临床动脉粥样硬化指标(脉搏波速度、PWV, 内膜中层厚度[IMT], 动脉粥样硬化斑块的存在) 与母乳喂养史的相关性分析。

结果：与母乳喂养1-5个月的妇女相比, 母乳喂养时间大于等于6个月的妇女颈总动脉内中膜厚度显著降低(模型R²=15.7%, b系数=-0.170, 95%CI：-0.208∼0.001, p值=0.019), 亚临床动脉粥样硬化的发生几率也显著降低(模型X²=28.127, OR=0.491, 95%CI 0.318∼0.999, p值=0.049), 调整了传统心血管危险因素。

结论：有至少6个月母乳喂养史的绝经后妇女亚临床动脉粥样硬化的患病率较低, 与传统的心血管危险因素无关。较长时间的母乳喂养可能对晚年亚临床动脉粥样硬化产生有益的影响。

The Chinese abstracts are translated by Prof. Dr. Xiangyan Ruan and her team: Beijing Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100026, China.

Keywords:

• Subclinical atherosclerosis
• arterial stiffness
• lactation
• menopause
• intima media thickness

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.