Norwegian Study Finds Modest Link Between Longer Breastfeeding and Slightly Lower ADHD Symptoms

com reported. Berit Skretting Solberg, psychiatrist and researcher at the University of Bergen and senior author, said the duration of exclusive breastfeeding showed a clear but moderate protective effect even after researchers adjusted for genetic risk factors and sociodemographic variables and compared siblings within families.

Mothers completed questionnaires six months after birth on exclusive breastfeeding duration, partial breastfeeding and introduction of other foods.

The link appeared in both boys and girls, with strongest effects at ages 3 and 5. Any breastfeeding showed some association, but the effect strengthened with longer and more exclusive breastfeeding up to six months. ADHD affects roughly 15.5 million American adults and an estimated 7 million American children, with diagnoses rising in the United States and globally.

U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend exclusive breastfeeding for about the first six months when possible. National data show 84 percent of new U.S. mothers start breastfeeding, 47 percent exclusively breastfeed at three months and 27 percent continue exclusively at six months.

Solberg noted the study population was more educated and breastfed longer than Norway overall, and called for further research to clarify causality.