A pair of recent studies found that children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, are less likely to have been breastfed, raising the possibility that either breast milk or the act of breastfeeding could have some sort of protective effect against ADHD.
New mothers are encouraged to breastfeed because their breast milk provides optimal nutrition for their newborns, is easier to digest, and contains hormones and antibodies that help protect against illness.
"As we know that breastfeeding has numerous other biological advantages, we suggest that prevention, at least partial, of ADHD may be added to this list," said the co-author of one of the studies, Aviva Mimouni-Bloch, MD, head of the pediatric neurology and developmental unit at Loewenstein Hospital Rehabilitation Center and professor of medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel.
Duration of Breastfeeding and ADHD
Dr. Mimouni-Bloch's study, which appeared in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine, compared 56 kids with ADHD to two control groups: 52 siblings who did not have ADHD and 51 non-related children who also did not have ADHD.
Researchers found that 43 percent of ADHD children were breastfed at 3 months of age, compared with 69 percent in the siblings group and 73 percent in the non-related group. By 6 months of age, that number dropped to 29 percent of ADHD children compared with 50 percent in the siblings group and 57 percent in the non-related group.
Breastfeeding for ADHD children tapered off quickly within 6 months, so there is a possibility that the length of time a child is breastfed could play a role in this association. However, the researchers don't know how long that might be. "We do not have an exact answer about how long should a baby breastfeed," Mimouni-Bloch said. "We found significant differences in breastfeeding between ADHD children, siblings of ADHD children, and normal nonrelated controls at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months."
Another recent study found that 54 percent of the ADHD children in the study were breastfed, compared with 78 percent of the non-ADHD children. Andrew Adesman, MD, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children's Medical Center of New York, presented his findings on breastfeeding and ADHD at the 2013 annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies in Washington, D.C. His study compared 54 preschool children with ADHD to 54 preschoolers without the disorder, using data drawn from the 2007 National Health Survey.
Similar to the Israeli study, Dr. Adesman and his colleagues noted significant differences in the duration of breastfeeding. About 57 percent of the breastfed ADHD children were nursed for less than one month, 20 percent for one to five months, and 22 percent for six months or more. By comparison, 26 percent of the breastfed control group kids were nursed for less than one month, 28 percent for two to five months, and 46 percent for six months or longer.
Understanding How Breastfeeding May Prevent ADHD
Adesman and Mimouni-Bloch both noted that their research does not prove that breastfeeding has any sort of protective effect. "We don't have any data that suggest that breastfeeding prevents ADHD," Adesman said. "We know that children with ADHD were less likely to have been breastfed."
There are reasons why kids with ADHD might not have been breastfed, the researchers pointed out. A child's difficult temperament might have made breastfeeding too difficult to pursue, or the mother herself might have ADHD and was unable to maintain the necessary patience.
If breast milk is proven to protect against ADHD, it might be due to its rich and optimal blend of fatty acids, Adesman said. These acids are essential to brain development. "There is some credible data to suggest that essential fatty acid supplementation can have modest, but discernable benefits when given to children with ADHD," Adesman said. "It's tempting to sort of link the two."
The act of breastfeeding itself also could provide some as-yet-unknown benefit. There is a sensory experience a baby gets from breastfeeding that's far richer than the bottle experience, according to the Mimouni-Bloch study, which pointed out that mother's milk has a varied taste, based on what mom has recently eaten and even the time of day. On the other hand, baby formulas are made to be consistent and don't offer any the same experience. Further research will be needed to try to uncover how these aspects may affect a baby's development.
Last Updated: 7/24/2013