This prospective cohort study examined whether full (exclusive or predominant) breastfeeding duration was associated with ADHD symptom levels in children at ages 3, 5, and 8 years, adjusting for sociodemographic, perinatal, and polygenic risk factors (child, mother, and father ADHD polygenic scores).
Each additional month of full breastfeeding was associated with significantly lower parent-rated ADHD symptoms at all ages: B = −0.08 at age 3, −0.07 at age 5, and −0.06 at age 8. Sibling analyses with discordant breastfeeding exposure and inverse probability weighting both supported the main findings.
- Breastfeeding was self-reported at 6 months only, limiting precision of duration estimates. - ADHD symptoms were parent-rated, not clinician-diagnosed, and may reflect reporter bias. - Despite adjusting for polygenic scores and sibling controls, residual unmeasured confounding (e.g., maternal bonding, diet quality) cannot be fully excluded.
Longer full breastfeeding may modestly reduce ADHD symptom burden across early childhood, even after accounting for genetic predisposition. Clinicians can cite this evidence when counseling families on breastfeeding benefits, while noting effect sizes are small and causality is not firmly established.
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