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Prolonged Breast-feeding Linked to Higher Adult IQ

Prolonged breast-feeding is associated with higher intelligence in adulthood, longer schooling, and higher adult income, according to a study published March 17 in the Lancet Global Health.

“Our study provides the first evidence that prolonged breastfeeding not only increases intelligence until at least the age of 30 years but also has an impact both at an individual and societal level by improving educational attainment and earning ability,” said coauthor Bernardo Lessa Horta, PhD, from the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, in a journal news release. “What is unique about this study is the fact that, in the population we studied, breastfeeding was not more common among highly educated, high-income women, but was evenly distributed by social class. Previous studies from developed countries have been criticized for failing to disentangle the effect of breastfeeding from that of socioeconomic advantage, but our work addresses this issue for the first time.”

The researchers conducted a prospective, population-based birth cohort study of neonates born in 1982 in Pelotas, Brazil. They recorded information about breast-feeding in early childhood and examined IQ (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd version), educational attainment, and income when the offspring were approximately aged 30 years.

Lancet Glob Health. Published online March 17, 2015.

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