Breastfeeding May Help Prevent ADHD

A new study shows that breastfeeding may have a positive impact on child development, including protection against illness.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University believe that breastfeeding could actually help protect against Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, which is the most commonly diagnosed neurobehavioral disorder in children and adolescents.

According to Dr. Aviva Mimouni-Bloch, of the Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine, and Head of the Child Neurodevelopmental Center in Lowenstein Hospital, and fellow researchers completed a retrospective study on breastfeeding habits of parents of three groups of children, including a group that had been diagnosed with ADHD, siblings of those diagnosed with ADHD, and a control group of children without ADHD and lacking any other genetic ties to the disorder.

The study shows that researchers were able to find a clear link between rates of breastfeeding and the likelihood of developing ADHD, even when typical risk factors were taken into consideration. Children who were bottle-fed at three months of age were up to three times more likely to have ADHD than those who were breastfed during the same period.

Parents answered a detailed questioner regarding medical and demographic data that was used on an impact on the development of ADHD, including marital status and education of the parents. Other questions involved pregnancy related problems, including hypertension or diabetes, birth weight of the child and genetic links to ADHD.

Results showed that at three months, only 43 percent of children in the ADHD group were breastfed compared to 69 percent of the sibling group and 73 percent of the control group. At six months, 29 percent of the ADHD group was breastfed, compared to 50 percent of the sibling group and 57 percent of the control group.

The inclusion of the sibling group was one of the unique elements of the study according to Dr. Mimouni-Bloch. Due to a child's temperaments, women may have more difficult with some children than others breastfeeding.

More information regarding the study can be found in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine.