Having breastfed may delay the onset of cognitive decline in women aged 50, compared to those who have never breastfed, according to a new study.
- Breastfeeding would protect mothers from cognitive decline from the age of 50
- This effect is in addition to the benefits of breastfeeding on women’s stress or postpartum depression.
Led by American researchers from UCLA Health (Los Angeles) and published in the journal Evolution, Medicine and Public Healththe study suggests that breastfeeding can create long-term brain benefits for mothers and specifically a positive impact on cognitive performance in postmenopausal women.
“Since breastfeeding has also been found to help regulate stress and reduce the risk of postpartum depression, suggesting acute neurocognitive benefits for the mother, we thought it may also be associated with superior long-term cognitive performance for the mother”, explains in a press release Molly Fox, lead author of the study and assistant professor in the department of anthropology and psychiatry at UCLA.
The work is based on the analysis of data collected from women who took part in two cross-sectional, randomized and controlled clinical trials lasting twelve weeks. Of the 115 women included in the study, 64 were diagnosed with depression. All the participants completed four tests designed to assess learning, memory and reasoning skills, as well as the brain’s speed in processing tasks and information.
A long-term “neuroprotector”
Participants were also asked to answer a series of questions related to reproductive life, including age at first menstrual period, number of pregnancies (complete and incomplete), duration of breastfeeding for each child, and date of birth. entering menopause.
Cognitive test results also revealed that women who breastfed, whether depressed or not, performed better on all four cognitive tests compared to those who did not breastfeed. In depressed women, only two of the cognitive domains – reasoning and processing speed – were significantly associated with breastfeeding.
“Our results, which show superior cognitive performance in women over 50 who have breastfed suggest that breastfeeding may be “neuroprotective” later in life“, conclude the authors of the study.
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