To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Breastfed Pima Indians Develop Less Diabetes URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/308C6.htm Doctor's Guide July 18, 1997
LONDON, ENGLAND -- July 18, 1997 -- The Pima Indians in the United States have one of the highest rates of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). A report in this week's issue of The Lancet says that Pima Indians who were exclusively breastfed for the first two months of life had less than half the risk of developing NIDDM compared with those who had received only bottlefeeds. Dr. David Pettitt and colleagues from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) analysed the information about the type of infant feeding recorded from the mothers of 741 individuals born over a span of 29 years. Information about the type of feeding during the first two months of life was classified as either exclusively breastfed, exclusively bottlefed, or had some breastfeeding. All individuals had regular assessments including weight, height, and an oral glucose-tolerance test for diabetes. Follow-up of these people showed that NIDDM developed in 13 of 44 (30 percent) of people aged 30-39 years who had been exclusively bottlefed; the corresponding rate in the exclusively breastfed group was six of 30 (20 percent). Previous studies have suggested that feeding babies with cow's milk is associated with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Bottlefed babies are on average overweight and obesity is a strong risk factor for NIDDM. In Pettitt's study the relative weight (weight adjusted for age and height) was significantly higher in the exclusively bottlefed group than in the exclusive breastfeeded or some breastfeeding group. "The increase in prevalence of diabetes in some populations may be due to the concomitant decrease in breastfeeding," the authors conclude. In a commentary in the same issue of The Lancet, Dr. David Simmons discusses some of the factors that could affect these results. For instance, the exclusively breastfed infants were more likely to be from a tribe with a lower prevalence of diabetes. He concludes that "breast is best, but further data are required to bring NIDDM into the breast-versus-bottle debate". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.