Breast-feeding lowers fracture risk
Source: Osteoporosis International 2003; 14: 694-700
http://www.orgyn.com/news/2003/Week_40/Day_5/Breast-feeding_lower.asp

Breast-feeding appears to benefit bone health independently of
parity, according to new findings.

Extended breast-feeding may explain why, in contrast to Western
countries, hip fractures in China are more common in men than in
women, researchers have proposed.

To test whether reproductive factors might be implicated in this
phenomenon, Dezheng Huo (University of Chicago, Illinois, USA) and
colleagues performed a case-control study in the Beijing metropolitan
area. They enrolled 121 women aged 50 years and over who had
sustained a hip fracture; each woman was matched with two neighbors
of similar age. All participants were interviewed about their
reproductive history and risk factors for hip fracture.

In a univariate model, Huo et al found that later age at menopause,
parity, and breast-feeding were protective of hip fracture. In
multivariate regression analysis, however, only breast-feeding
remained significantly associated with the risk of hip fracture.

Taking women who breast-fed for less than 6 months per child as
reference, Huo et al calculated that the odds ratios associated with
breast-feeding for 7-12 months, 13-23 months, and more than 24 months
were 1.14, 0.28, and 0.34, respectively.

Among parous women, the risk of hip fracture was reduced by 13
percent for every additional 6 months breast-feeding per child.

"The implication of these findings is that breast-feeding is
potentially beneficial for bone health even in a population with low
calcium consumption," the authors conclude.

Posted 3 October 2003

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html