I think we have a problem with the literature. GR Osborn's study
of coronary arteries of 109 adolescents was apparently first
reported on in 1963 in his book The Incubation Period of Coronary
Thrombosis (Butterworth, Kent, England, 1963) and this study was
quoted in Pediatric Nutrition, Fima Lifshitz, ed. Marcel Dekker,
New York, 1982, pp. 59-60, which is where I read about it.
According to the chart on p. 59, the percentages are nothing
close to the 1967 Osborn study that both Susan and Katherine
wrote me about, and apparently it is the same study under
discussion! The differences ARE significant and striking, but
still..... my pedantic heart is all aflutter.
As for the large English study by Fall et al., I found it in BMJ
304:801-805, 1992. Brace yourselves for this. There were 4
groups: (1) breast and bottle fed; (2) breastfed and weaned at
1 year; (3) breastfed and NOT weaned at 1 year; (4) bottle fed.
MORTALITY RATE FOR ISCHEMIC HEART DISEASE WAS HIGHEST (97) IN
GROUP 3, FOLLOWED BY GROUP 4 (95), FOLLOWED BY GROUP 2 (79), LAST
WAS GROUP 1 (73). If someone can explain this to me, I'd be
grateful. Groups 3 and 4 also had the highest levels of
cholesterol and LDL cholesterol, but I'm OK with this. I would
really appreciate it if a wiser and more experienced head would
read this study, so I can find reasons explaining the somewhat
strange results to my boss. Maybe smoking wasn't really
controlled for? etc. I already made my first "presentation" and
he sounded interested. He has a very big name in the wonderful
world of cardiology, so if I can hook him, it would be good for
our side. These studies are giving me insomnia. Judy Knopf