Observational studyJournal of the American Heart Association2018
Breastfeeding History and Risk of Stroke Among Parous Postmenopausal Women in the Women's Health Initiative.
Observational study in Journal of the American Heart Association, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 43 citations in OpenAlex.
- 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
- Pooled it
- Postpartum Plasma-Derived Exosomes Confer Mitochondrial Stabilization and Neuroprotection against Ischemic Stroke.Research square · 2026Article
- Duration and intensity of lactation and maternal risk of subsequent incident coronary artery disease and stroke-a prospective cohort study.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2025Article
- Lactation and cardiovascular health: A comprehensive review.American heart journal plus : cardiology research and practice · 2025Review
- 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2025Review
- 2024 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics: A Report of US and Global Data From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2024Review
- Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2023 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2023Review
- Pregnancy-related factors may signal additional protection or risk of future cardiovascular diseases.BMC women's health · 2022Article
- History of Breastfeeding and Stroke Prevalence Among Parous Females: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2012.Breastfeeding medicine : the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine · 2022Article
- The Impact of Sex and Gender on Stroke.Circulation research · 2022Review
- Lactation Duration and the Risk of Subtypes of Stroke Among Parous Postmenopausal Women From the China Kadoorie Biobank.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2021 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2021Article
- Pregnancy, postpartum and parity: Resilience and vulnerability in brain health and disease.Frontiers in neuroendocrinology · 2020Review
- Effectiveness of a Pilot Breastfeeding Educational Intervention Targeting High BMI Pregnant Women.Kansas journal of medicine · 2020Article
- Breastfeeding with HIV: An Evidence-Based Case for New Policy.The Journal of law, medicine & ethics : a journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics · 2019Review
- Breastfeeding History and Risk of Stroke Among Parous Postmenopausal Women in the Women's Health Initiative.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2018Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors at 10 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Background Stroke is the third leading cause of death among US Hispanic and non-Hispanic black women aged 65 and older. One factor that may protect against stroke is breastfeeding. Few studies have assessed the association between breastfeeding and stroke and whether this association differs by race and ethnicity. Methods and Results Data were taken from the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study with follow-up through 2010; adjusted hazard ratios for stroke subsequent to childbirth were estimated with Cox regression models accounting for left and right censoring, overall and stratified by race/ethnicity. Of the 80 191 parous women in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, 2699 (3.4%) had experienced a stroke within a follow-up period of 12.6 years. The average age was 63.7 years at baseline. Fifty-eight percent (n=46 699) reported ever breastfeeding; 83% were non-Hispanic white, 8% were non-Hispanic black, 4% were Hispanic, and 5% were of other race/ethnicity. After adjustment for nonmodifiable potential confounders, compared with women who had never breastfed, women who reported ever breastfeeding had a 23% lower risk of stroke (adjusted hazard ratio=0.77; 95% confidence interval 0.70-0.83). This association was strongest for non-Hispanic black women (adjusted hazard ratio=0.52; 95% confidence interval 0.37-0.71). Further, breastfeeding for a relatively short duration (1-6 months) was associated with a 19% lower risk of stroke (adjusted hazard ratios=0.81; 95% confidence interval 0.74-0.89). This association appeared stronger with longer breastfeeding duration and among non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black women (test for trend P<0.01). Conclusions Study results show an association and dose-response relationship between breastfeeding and lower risk of stroke among postmenopausal women after adjustment for multiple stroke risk factors and lifestyle variables. Further investigation is warranted.
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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.