Early weaning linked to alcohol problems in later life

April 23, 2006

http://www.cnsforum.com/cnsnewsitem/e329be00-60c5-4384-ae92-2cf8a6bdd035/default.aspx

New Danish research has identified a significant link between early weaning and increased risk of being admitted to hospital with alcohol-related diagnoses as an adult.

Dr Holger Sørensen of the Danish Epidemiology Science Centre at Copenhagen University Hospital and colleagues report in the current issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry that the association appears to be independent of a number of other risk factors for alcoholism.

The researchers set out to see whether not being breastfed or a short duration of breastfeeding in infancy was associated with alcohol problems in adult life among a sample of 6,562 people born in Copenhagen between October 1959 and December 1961.

Dr Sørensen’s team divided the sample into two categories based on duration of breastfeeding, as assessed one year after the birth of the baby by a doctor interviewing the mother. Admissions to a psychiatric hospital with alcohol-related diagnoses meeting standard diagnostic criteria were identified in the Danish Psychiatric Central Register. The researchers took into account nine potential confounding factors, such as the sex of the offspring subject, maternal age, social status of the parents and smoking by the mother.

Alcohol-related diagnoses were more frequent in men, but the results were comparable for men and women. Overall, the research revealed that early weaning increased the risk of being hospitalised with a drink-related diagnosis by close to 50 per cent.

The study also identified similar relative risks associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy and unwanted pregnancy status. Other independent predictors were being male, having a mother who had also been admitted to a psychiatric hospital at some time with an alcohol-related diagnosis, and low parental social status.

Reference

Sørensen HJ et al, American Journal of Psychiatry 2006; 163: 704-709