ArticleObstetrics and gynecology2009
Duration of lactation and risk factors for maternal cardiovascular disease.
Article in Obstetrics and gynecology, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 195 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
195 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 435 citations in OpenAlex.
- Human Milk Feeding in Inherited Metabolic Disorders: A Systematic Review of Growth, Metabolic Control, and Neurodevelopment Outcomes.Journal of inherited metabolic disease · 2025Pooled it
- Breastfeeding After Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review of Prevalence and Associated Complications.Topics in spinal cord injury rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Public health evaluation of PFAS exposures and breastfeeding: a systematic literature review.Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology · 2023Pooled it
- Breastfeeding Is Associated With a Reduced Maternal Cardiovascular Risk: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Involving Data From 8 Studies and 1 192 700 Parous Women.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2022Pooled it
- Association between the reproductive health of young women and cardiovascular disease in later life: umbrella review.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2020Pooled it
- Duration of Lactation and Maternal Risk of Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Association of Maternal Lactation With Diabetes and Hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2019Pooled it
- Breastfeeding and maternal cardiovascular risk factors and outcomes: A systematic review.PloS one · 2017Pooled it
- Breast-feeding and postpartum weight retention: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Public health nutrition · 2015Pooled it
- Racial and ethnic disparities in breastfeeding.Breastfeeding medicine : the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine · 2015Pooled it
- The relationship between breastfeeding and postpartum weight change--a systematic review and critical evaluation.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2014Pooled it
- Prenatal Counseling on the Maternal Health Benefits of Lactation: A Randomized Trial.Breastfeeding medicine : the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine · 2024Trial
- Breastfeeding initiation and duration among people with mild chronic hypertension: a secondary analysis of the Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy trial.American journal of obstetrics & gynecology MFM · 2023Trial
- Improving Breastfeeding by Empowering Mothers in Vietnam: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Mobile App.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Effects of an intervention to promote breastfeeding on maternal adiposity and blood pressure at 11.5 y postpartum: results from the Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial, a cluster-randomized controlled trial.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2013Trial
- Postplacental or delayed levonorgestrel intrauterine device insertion and breast-feeding duration.Contraception · 2011Trial
- Defining lactation outcomes, milk composition, and breastfeeding safety for women with chronic kidney disease: protocol for a prospective observational study.International breastfeeding journal · 2026Article
- Breastfeeding duration and maternal weight change through adulthood in a population-based cohort study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Article
- Breastfeeding was associated with lower risks of maternal postpartum hypertension and diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis.World journal of diabetes · 2025Article
- History of Breastfeeding in Relation to Circulating Inflammatory and Metabolic Biomarkers.Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology · 2025Article
135 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo examine dose-response relationships between the cumulative number of months women lactated and postmenopausal risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
methodsWe examined data from 139,681 postmenopausal women (median age 63 years) who reported at least one live birth on enrolling in the Women's Health Initiative observational study or controlled trials. Multivariable models were used to control for sociodemographic (age, parity, race, education, income, age at menopause), lifestyle, and family history variables when examining the effect of duration of lactation on risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including obesity (body mass index [BMI] at or above 30), hypertension, self-reported diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and prevalent and incident cardiovascular disease.
resultsDose-response relationships were seen; in fully adjusted models, women who reported a lifetime history of more than 12 months of lactation were less likely to have hypertension (odds ratio [OR] 0.88, P<.001), diabetes (OR 0.80, P<.001), hyperlipidemia (OR 0.81, P<.001), or cardiovascular disease (OR 0.91, P=.008) than women who never breast-fed, but they were not less likely to be obese. In models adjusted for all above variables and BMI, similar relationships were seen. Using multivariate adjusted prevalence ratios from generalized linear models, we estimate that among parous women who did not breast-feed compared with those who breast-fed for more than 12 months, 42.1% versus 38.6% would have hypertension, 5.3% versus 4.3% would have diabetes, 14.8% versus 12.3% would have hyperlipidemia, and 9.9% versus 9.1% would have developed cardiovascular disease when postmenopausal. Over an average of 7.9 years of postmenopausal participation in the Women's Health Initiative, women with a single live birth who breast-fed for 7-12 months were significantly less likely to develop cardiovascular disease (hazard ratio 0.72, 95% confidence interval 0.53-0.97) than women who never breast-fed.
conclusionAmong postmenopausal women, increased duration of lactation was associated with a lower prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.