Yasuhi I, et al. – Clinicians analyzed whether or not high–intensity breastfeeding reduces the incidence of abnormal glucose tolerance and evaluated the impact of high–intensity breastfeeding on insulin resistance during the first year postpartum in Japanese women with current gestational diabetes. It was showed that high–intensity breastfeeding ≥6 months had a protective effect against the establishment of abnormal glucose tolerance during the first year postpartum through improving insulin resistance, independent of obesity and postpartum weight change in Japanese women with gestational diabetes.

Methods

• Researchers carried out a retrospective study including women with gestational diabetes who underwent postpartum 75 g oral glucose tolerance test during the first year (12–14 months) postpartum from 2009 to 2011 at a single tertiary perinatal care center in Japan.
• They characterized high–intensity breastfeeding as the condition in which infants were fed by breastfeeding alone or 80% or more of the volume.
• They further evaluated the impact of high–intensity breastfeeding on the prevalence of postpartum abnormal glucose tolerance and the postpartum homeostasis model of assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA–IR), after controlling for confounders, including prepregnancy obesity and weight changes during pregnancy and postpartum.

Results

• It was noted that 46 (52%) had abnormal glucose tolerance during the postpartum period among 88 women with gestational diabetes.
• The results showed that high–intensity breastfeeding women (n=70) were significantly less likely to have abnormal glucose tolerance than non–high–intensity breastfeeding women (n=18) (46% vs. 78%, p=0.015).
• Evidence showed that high–intensity breastfeeding was also correlated with a lower HOMA–IR at 12–14 months postpartum than non–high–intensity breastfeeding (1.41±1.02 vs. 2.28±1.05, p=0.035).
• Those correlations remained significant after controlling for confounders.
• At least six months of high–intensity breastfeeding had a significant impact on lowering both the abnormal glucose tolerance prevalence and HOMA–IR compared with non–high–intensity breastfeeding.