Infant feeding method and special educational need in 191,745 Scottish schoolchildren: A national, population cohort study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

While special educational needs (SEN) are increasingly recorded among schoolchildren, infant breastfeeding has been associated with reduced incidence of childhood physical and mental health problems. This study investigated relationships between infant feeding method and risk of all-cause and cause-specific SEN.

Methods and findings

A population cohort of schoolchildren in Scotland was constructed by linking together health (maternity, birth, and health visitor records) and education (annual school pupil census) databases. Inclusion was restricted to singleton children, born in Scotland from 2004 onwards with available breastfeeding data and who attended local authority mainstream or special schools between 2009 and 2013. Generalised estimating equation models wit

SUBMITTER: Adams LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10079126 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature