Breastfeeding Duration and High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study of Seven Provinces in China

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the associations between breastfeeding duration and blood pressure (BP) levels, BP Z scores and high BP (HBP) in children and adolescents. A total of 57,201 participants including 29,491 boys and 27,710 girls aged 7–18 years were recruited from seven provinces in China in 2012. HBP was defined as BP levels of ≥95th percentiles of the referent age-, sex-, and height-specific population. Breastfeeding duration was divided into non-breastfeeding, 0–5 months, 6–12 months, and >12 months. Information on demographic, parental or family factors and dietary behaviors was collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Multivariable linear regression and logistic regression models were applied to assess the relationships of breastfeeding duration with BP levels and BP Z scores and with HBP, respectively. Stratified analyses were performed to further investigate the potential subgroup-specific associations. The reported prolonged breastfeeding (>12 months) rate was 22.53% in the total population. After full adjustment, compared to the non-breastfeeding group, breastfeeding for 6–12 months was correlated with 0.43 (95% CI: −0.75, −0.11) and 0.36 (95% CI: −0.61, −0.12) mmHg lower levels of SBP and DBP, respectively. Similar decrease trends were found for BP Z scores. Prolonged breastfeeding (>12 months) was associated with 1.33 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.58) and 1.12 (95% CI: 0.94, 1.33) higher odds of HBP in boys and girls, respectively. Based on nationally representative data, there was no evidence that a longer duration of breastfeeding is protective against childhood HBP. Breastfeeding for 6–12 months may be beneficial to BP, while prolonged breastfeeding durations might increase the odds of HBP in children and adolescents.