- Recent press releases
-
- Antioxidants may prevent cognitive impairment in diabetes
- Skin inflammation may increase your risk of type-2 diabetes
- Debate - Is the gut or the brain more important in regulating appetite and metabolism?
- Routine vitamin B12 screening may prevent irreversible nerve damage in type-2 diabetes
- Good nutrition could protect children from cognitive difficulties caused by early-life stress
- Women more resilient to extreme physical activity than previously reported
- Oestrogens in cows’ milk are unlikely to pose a threat to adult health
- Diabetic patients are more at risk of death from alcohol, accidents and suicide
- Too much vitamin A may increase risk of bone fractures
- Vitamin D supplements may promote weight loss in obese children
- Vitamin B supplements may protect kidney function in children with diabetes
- Bad habits in childhood may lead to an ‘unhealthy’ balance of gut bacteria and increase health risks in later life
- Lord Robert Winston cautions that advances in infertility therapies may be hindered by over-regulation
- New link identified between inflammation and depression in type-1 diabetes
- Walking a tightrope: universal thyroid testing could reduce pregnancy problems in some cases, but interfere with healthy pregnancies in others
- Brain stimulation may reduce food cravings as obesity treatment
- Larger waistlines are linked to higher risk of vitamin D deficiency
- Transgender brains are more like their desired gender from an early age
- Could intermittent fasting diets increase diabetes risk?
- Minimising exposure to common hormone-disrupting chemicals may reduce obesity rates
- Brain development disorders in children linked to common environmental toxin exposures
- Children born to mothers with low vitamin D levels may develop autism-like behaviours
- Over-the-counter antihistamines linked to impaired fertility in men
- Arthritis drug can lower sugar levels in diabetes
- Potential new target for reducing osteoporosis risk in men
- Successful male infertility treatment does not lower fertility of sons
- Warm temperatures can lead to misdiagnosis of diabetes in pregnancy
- Guidelines for management of recurrent pituitary tumours recommend new drug as first line treatment
- Taking paracetamol during pregnancy may reduce fertility of daughters
- Link found between morning sickness, smoking and healthy pregnancies
- High fat diet during childhood may increase PCOS risk later in life
- Early pregnancy test for cows improves welfare and food production
- International collaboration release revised guideline for improved management of Turner syndrome
- Treating PCOS with a combination of oral contraceptives and spironolactone does not increase the risk of diabetes or heart disease
- Vitamin D supplements could help pain management
- Breast cancer risk is more affected by total body fat than abdominal fat
- New nanotechnology application for difficult-to-treat cancers
- Just six months of frequent exercise improves men’s sperm quality
- Consuming more than two soft drinks a day can double risk of diabetes
- Age-related scarring in ovaries may explain reproductive decline
- Happy cows make more nutritious milk
- Third of pregnant women iron deficient; risk thyroid-related pregnancy complications
- New recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of Adrenal Incidentalomas published in the European Journal of Endocrinology
- Sitting down for long periods when pregnant linked to weight gain and depression
- New drug provides safer alternative to conventional IVF treatment
- Enzyme potential target for fight against obesity and diabetes
- Bursts of high-intensity exercise could help diabetes patients manage low blood sugar levels
- Soybean foods may protect menopausal women against osteoporosis
- Vitamin D pill a day may improve exercise performance and lower risk of heart disease
- Diabetes associated with increased risk of serious bacterial blood infection
- Breast cancer risk higher in women with overactive thyroid
- Injection of appetite gene may offer a more effective alternative to dieting
- Hyperthyroidism could be great cost to countries in disability benefits
- Mother’s hormone levels predict child’s ability to do maths
- Mentally tiring work may increase diabetes risk in women
- Obesity risk may be increased by exposure to common environmental chemicals
- Breastfeeding reduces long-term risk of heart disease in mothers
- Environmental toxins can impair sexual development and fertility of future generations
- Setting fair regulations for top female athletes that have naturally higher testosterone levels
- Sleep problems in teenagers reversed in just one week by limiting screen use
- Men ignore serious health risks of steroid abuse in pursuit of the body beautiful
- Protective effect of breastfeeding on childhood obesity risk linked to leptin gene modification
- Smoking during pregnancy may damage daughters’ future fertility
- Probiotic supplements may enhance weight loss in obese children
- Limiting mealtimes may increase your motivation for exercise
- Age is not a barrier to the benefits of weight-loss surgery
- New insights into cause and treatments for aggressive form of breast cancer
- Stress with disrupted body clock increases risk of metabolic disease
- Impaired liver function during pregnancy may increase risk of childhood obesity
- Vitamin B12 deficiency linked to obesity during pregnancy
- Common anti-inflammatory may increase risk of diabetes
- Mindfulness helps obese children lose weight
- Larger thighs associated with lower risk of heart disease in obesity
- COVID-19 severity is increased in patients with mild obesity
- Thyroid inflammation linked to anxiety disorders
- Evaluating hormone-related targets & risks associated with COVID-19
- Ghrelin may be an effective treatment for age-related muscle loss
- Probiotics may help manage childhood obesity
- Skin lightening products linked to altered steroid hormone levels
- Vitamin D levels in the blood can predict future health risks & death
- COVID-19 infection may impair fertility in men
- Obesity is linked to heavy periods and impaired womb repair
- New app helps parents identify treatable childhood growth disorders earlier
- Web of Science announces 2022 Journal Impact Factors
- More news
Breastfeeding reduces long-term risk of heart disease in mothers
May 2019
Women who breastfed their babies are less likely to develop heart disease later in life, according to findings to be presented in Lyon, at the European Society of Endocrinology annual meeting, ECE 2019. The study also suggests that the protective effect on heart health is increased in women who breastfed for longer periods of time. These findings provide further evidence for the long-term health benefits of breastfeeding and that women should be encouraged to do so when possible.
Breastfeeding has previously been shown to reduce the risk of postpartum depression and the risk of certain cancers in women. It has also been established that breastfeeding can help mothers to maintain a healthy body weight and regulate their blood sugar. These benefits are likely to be related to the higher levels of the hormone, prolactin, in breastfeeding mothers. More recently, studies have indicated that prolactin reduces the risk of diabetes, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of death among women worldwide but the long-term protective effects of breastfeeding on heart disease risk have not been adequately investigated.
In this study, Professor Irene Lambrinoudaki from the University of Athens and colleagues, measured markers of heart and blood vessel health in postmenopausal women, in relation to their history of breastfeeding. After adjusting for other cardiovascular health risk factors, including body weight, age, cholesterol levels and smoking habits, the data indicated that women who had breastfed had significantly lower levels of heart disease and heart disease risk indicators. This effect was even more significant in women that had breastfed for longer periods of time.
Prof Lambrinoudaki says, “These findings indicate that breastfeeding lowers the risk of heart disease in women. However, this is an association study only, we are now interested in looking at establishing the underlying causes of this protective effect.”
Prof Lambrinoudaki comments, “If we can show causality for the protective effect, women will have one more reason to nurse their infants, beyond the already documented benefits of breastfeeding for short- and long term health of both them and their children.”
Prof Lambrinoudaki’s team are now investigating the molecular mechanisms of how prolactin affects blood sugar, which is a major risk factor for heart disease. This research could uncover new mechanisms to target in the prevention of heart disease for everyone, not just breastfeeding women.
---ENDS---
The poster “Breastfeeding is inversely associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women” was presented on Sunday 19 May 2019, at the European Congress of Endocrinology at the Lyon Convention Centre, Lyon, France.
The European Congress of Endocrinology was held at Lyon Convention Centre, Lyon, France on the 18-21 May 2019.
The European Society of Endocrinology was created to promote research, education and clinical practice in endocrinology by the organisation of conferences, training courses and publications, by raising public awareness, liaison with national and international legislators, and by any other appropriate means.
Recent Press Releases
Web of Science announces 2022 Journal Impact Factors
Mother’s hormone levels predict child’s ability to do maths
Hyperthyroidism could be great cost to countries in disability benefits
Injection of appetite gene may offer a more effective alternative to dieting
Soybean foods may protect menopausal women against osteoporosis