Exclusive breastfeeding for six months linked to fewer ADHD symptoms in children

A recent study indicates that infants exclusively breastfed for six months may exhibit fewer symptoms of ADHD in early childhood, even when accounting for genetic predisposition. The research, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, was conducted by a team led by Berit Skretting Solberg at the University of Bergen in Norway.

The team analyzed data from over 37,000 Norwegian children born between 1999 and 2009. Mothers were asked to report their children's breastfeeding habits at six months, classifying it as full breastfeeding when the infant received only breast milk and no formula or solid foods. As the children grew, their parents completed behavioral assessments at ages three, five, and eight, tracking symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention.

The researchers found that each additional month of full breastfeeding was linked to a measurable reduction in ADHD symptoms across all three assessment ages. To further examine the relationship, the study focused on a smaller group of 18,349 mother-father-child units, incorporating both parents' genetic risk scores and adjusting for various socioeconomic factors.

The results remained consistent even after accounting for these factors, showing that longer durations of full breastfeeding were consistently associated with lower ADHD symptom scores in childhood. Even when analyzing sibling pairs, where the mother breastfed one child for a different duration than the other, the sibling who received full breastfeeding tended to display fewer ADHD symptoms.

While the effect size decreased slightly as the children reached age eight, the relationship remained present in the data. The researchers emphasize that the observed reductions in ADHD symptoms might not be clinically observable for individual children but could translate into broader population trends.