"Breast-fed children with one common variation of" a gene that influences "the metabolism of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids" averaged "seven points higher on IQ tests than children nourished on formula or cow's milk."
However, "children with another, less common variation did not benefit from breast-feeding at all," according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
Researchers at London's King's College "looked at more than 1,000 children in New Zealand who were born in 1972," and 2,200 British children who were born between the years 1994 and 1995, Nature (11/6, Kaplan) adds. After testing the participants' IQs "at ages 7, 9, 11, and 13," the team used a DNA test "to look at a specific spot in their FADS2 genes, to see which version or 'allele' of the gene they carried."
Breast-fed babies more likely to have higher HDL levels, lower BMI.
"Breast-fed babies are less likely than bottle-fed infants to have certain cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in adulthood," according to research presented at the AHA annual meeting. Researchers looked at "two generations of participants in the Framingham Heart Study." Lead author Dr. Nisha I. Parikh, a cardiovascular fellow at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said, "Having been breast-fed in infancy is associated with a lower average body-mass index (BMI) and a higher average HDL...level in adulthood, even after accounting for personal and maternal demographic and CVD risk factors that could influence the results." WebMD (11/6, Laino) also covers the story.
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