The Study of Relationship between Breastfeeding and Metabolic Syndrome and its Components in Premenopausal Parous Women: From the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2010-2016

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#Here we aimed to examine the association of breastfeeding (BF) with the metabolic syndrome (Mets) and its components among premenopausal parous Korean women. @*Methods@#We conducted a cross-sectional study on 7,116 Korean women by using nationally representa tive data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, between 2010 and 2016. Mul­tivariate logistic regression analysis was performed for examining the association of BF with Mets and its components. @*Results@#A total 7,116 women were selected for this study. Mets was present in 12.9% of the study parti cipants. The prevalence of Mets in the BF group (12.38%) was lower than that of the non-BF group (14.69 %) (p<0.05). The prevalence of hypertension and hypertriglyceridemia was significantly higher in the non-BF group compared to that of the BF group. For each of Mets components, the total cholestrol level and systolic blood pressure were significantly higher in the non-BF group, compared to those of the BF group (p<0.05). The BF group was associated with a decreased risk of Mets (odds ratio [OR], 0.82; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68–0.99). and lower risks of hypo-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterolemia (OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.62–0.68), compared to those of the non-BF group. @*Conclusion@#BF is an important factor in reducing the risks of Mets. These results provide fundamental evidence for the establishment of policies for promoting BF.