Breastfeeding may protect against heroin addiction
Özet
Background: Heroin addiction is a biopsychosocial disorder and the role of some early environmental factors has also
been suggested. The aim of the study was to assess whether breastfeeding may or may not affect the development of
heroin addiction in adult life. Methods: We compared the incidence of breastfeeding in the first four months of life and the
duration of breastfeeding in patients suffering from heroin addiction with the results for the control group. We also compared
the timing of the introduction of complementary foods between the two groups. The addicted group consisted of 88
patients (27 females/61 males; mean age 22 ± 4 years) suffering from heroin addiction, while the control group included
a group of 57 healthy individuals (22 females/35 males; mean age 23 ± 5 years). The breastfeeding history was obtained
retrospectively by means of face-to-face interviews with the mothers of patients and controls. Results: The incidence of
breastfeeding between 0 and 4 months was 73% (n=64) in patients with heroin addiction and 88% (n=50) in the control
group. Weaning within the first 4 months of life (OR; 0.33; CI, 0.13-0.85; p=0.02) was associated with a high risk of
heroin addiction in later life. Duration of breastfeeding, and the timing of the introduction of complementary foods were
found to be similar in the two groups (p >0.05). Conclusions: This study suggests that early weaning (i.e. weaning during
the first 4 months) may be associated with an increased risk in adult life to be faced by the offspring of parents showing
heroin addiction. Duration of breastfeeding and the timing of the introduction of complementary foods (solid foods and
cow's milk) might not have any effect on the development of heroin addiction.
