Hi, Just found this while browsing through Internet:
Breast milk and subsequent intelligence quotient in children born
preterm.
Lancet 1992 Feb 1;339(8788):261-4 Lucas A; Morley R; Cole TJ; Lister G;
Leeson-Payne C
(92122860 NLM)
There is considerable controversy over whether nutrition in early life
has a long-term influence on neurodevelopment. We have shown previously
that, in preterm infants, mother's choice to provide breast milk was
associated with higher developmental scores at 18 months. We now report
data on intelligence quotient (IQ) in the same children seen at 7 1/2-8
years. IQ was assessed in 300 children with an abbreviated version of
the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children (revised Anglicised).
Children who had consumed mother's milk in the early weeks of life had a
significantly higher IQ at 7 1/2-8 years than did those who received no
maternal milk. An 8.3 point advantage (over half a standard deviation)
in IQ remained even after adjustment for differences between groups in
mother's education and social class (p less than 0.0001). This advantage
was associated with being fed mother's milk by tube rather than with the
process of breastfeeding. There was a dose-response relation between the
proportion of mother's milk in the diet and subsequent IQ. Children
whose mothers chose to provide milk but failed to do so had the same IQ
as those whose mothers elected not to provide breast milk. Although
these results could be explained by differences between groups in
parenting skills or genetic potential (even after adjustment for social
and educational factors), our data point to a beneficial effect of human
milk on neurodevelopment.
Keywords: Breast feeding; Lactation; Child; Intelligence; Child
development
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