Breastfeeding and maternal bone health 10 years postpartum: findings from the ROLO longitudinal cohort study.
Saoirse Kennedy, Kristyn Dunlop, Sophie Callanan et al.
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In 30 seconds
This longitudinal cohort analysis examined whether breastfeeding behaviours were associated with maternal bone health 10 years after pregnancy. It included 196 women from the ROLO cohort; DXA measurements were available for 171 and bone turnover markers for 60. Most participants were premenopausal. Breastfeeding duration was not associated with DXA measurements at follow-up. An unadjusted difference in β-CTX-I between women who breastfed for ≥12 months and those who never breastfed was observed (p = 0.038), but the small group size left adjusted analysis underpowered.
Key findings
- Breastfeeding duration was not associated with DXA measurements at 10-year follow-up.
- An unadjusted β-CTX-I difference was observed for ≥12 months of breastfeeding versus never breastfeeding (p = 0.038); adjusted analysis was underpowered.
Why it matters
The findings add longitudinal evidence that breastfeeding duration is not associated with adverse maternal bone measurements a decade later. This may help contextualise concerns about lasting skeletal effects, while the exploratory bone turnover marker result remains uncertain and should not be interpreted as evidence of a clinically meaningful difference.
What to keep in mind
DXA data were available for 171 participants and bone turnover marker data for 60; the small group size made adjusted analysis of the exploratory β-CTX-I finding underpowered.