Study: Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus increases if breast-feeding period is below 30 days

A study reported in the American Journal of Medicine revealed that breast-feeding for less than 1 month can increase the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. The study’s lead author, Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, MD, MS, from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, said, "Diet and exercise are widely known to impact the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, but few people realize that breastfeeding also reduces mothers' risk of developing the disease later in life by decreasing maternal belly fat."

Study:

The study aimed to examine the relationship amongst duration, exclusivity, and consistency of lactation with the risk of Type 2 Diabetes in 2233 female member of a healthcare delivery organization in California, aged between 40 and 78 years. The researchers controlled for age, parity, race, education, hysterectomy, physical activity, tobacco, and alcohol use, family history of diabetes, and body mass index using multivariable logistic regression.

Result: 

• Mothers who never exclusively breast-fed were more likely to have gone on to have Type 2 Diabetes as compared to those who exclusively breast-fed for 1 to 3 months 
• Compared with nulliparous women, those who consistently breast-fed their children for at least 1 month had a similar adjusted risk for Type 2 Diabetes
• Mothers who had never breast-fed an infant had greater risk 

To conclude, the authors added, "Risk of Type 2 Diabetes increases when term pregnancy is followed by <1 month of lactation, independent of physical activity and body mass index in later life. Mothers should be encouraged to exclusively breast-feed all of their infants for at least 1 month."