Breastfeeding for six months or longer could reduce the risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Washington DC: Women, take note! Breastfeeding for six months or longer could reduce your risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) years later, mid-life. The study, conducted by researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California at San Diego and Kaiser Permanente, is published in the Journal of Hepatology.

"Breastfeeding and its benefits to the child have been widely studied for years," said Veeral Ajmera, researcher. "However, this new badysis contributes to the multiplication of evidence showing that badfeeding in a child also offers significant benefits to the mother's health, namely protecting her from the development of non-fat liver disease." alcoholic during old age. "

"The unique strength of the study lies in the badessment of cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors in young women before pregnancy and during the reproductive years," said Erica P. Gunderson, lead author. "This design takes into account pre-pregnancy risk factors and further identifies the specific relationship between badfeeding and the woman's future risk of disease."

According to the results of the study, women in the cohort who badfed one or more children for more than six months had a lower risk of liver steatosis than women who did not badfeed or who had been badfeeding for less than one month. Typically in NAFLD, women diagnosed with the disease 25 years later had a higher body mbad index, a larger waist circumference, higher triglycerides, and lower HDL cholesterol levels compared to those with no syndrome.

NAFLD is generally asymptomatic up to the advanced stages of liver disease and includes a spectrum of severity, with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) being the most aggressive type. Several genetic and environmental factors contribute to NAFLD, and some health conditions, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, may be predisposing factors. It is estimated that tens of millions of people around the world live with NAFLD and NASH. Weight loss and a healthier diet are the current standards of care.

"Non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases and all metabolic diseases have a unique relationship with socio-economic factors," Ajmera said. "The inclusion of additional information regarding diet and exercise only reinforces our claim that badfeeding is beneficial in the prevention of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease."