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. 2010 Sep 17;40(1):47–62. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyq155

Table 5.

Pooled analysis of body composition outcomes with infant-feeding exposures

Model 1
Model 2
Effect size
Effect size
B OR 95% CI B OR 95% CI p-het
Ever breastfed
    BMI (kg/m2) −0.12 −0.49 to 0.25 −0.21 −0.60 to 0.17 0.33
    Waist (cm) −0.62 −1.52 to 0.27 −0.67 −1.59 to 0.25 0.09
    Percentage fat −0.17 −0.82 to 0.47 −0.06 −0.70 to 0.59 0.33
    Subscapular (mm, logged) −0.03 −0.09 to 0.02 −0.02 −0.07 to 0.03 0.33
    Triceps (mm, logged) −0.05 −0.10 to 0.01 −0.03 −0.09 to 0.02 0.13
    Obesity 0.78 0.55 to 1.11 0.77 0.54 to 1.11 0.75
    Overweight/obesity 0.87 0.70 to 1.09 0.84 0.67 to 1.06 0.05
Duration of breastfeeding (per categorya)
    BMI (kg/m2) 0.03 −0.01 to 0.07 0.04 0.00 to 0.08 0.12
    Waist (cm) −0.01 −0.10 to 0.08 0.05 −0.05 to 0.15 0.18
    Percentage fat −0.05 −0.12 to 0.01 0.001 −0.07 to 0.07 0.33
    Subscapular (mm, logged) −0.009 −0.014 to −0.003 −0.002 −0.008 to 0.003 0.67
    Triceps (mm, logged) −0.011 −0.017 to −0.006 −0.004 −0.01 to 0.002 0.65
    Obesity 1.03 0.99 to 1.07 1.04 1.00 to 1.09 0.35
    Overweight/obesity 1.01 0.99 to 1.04 1.02 0.99 to 1.04 0.66
Duration of breastfeeding (quadratic per categorya)
    BMI (kg/m2) 0.002 −0.015 to 0.019 0.011 −0.007 to 0.029 0.21
    Waist (cm) 0.006 −0.033 to 0.046 0.030 −0.012 to 0.072 0.53
    Percentage fat −0.016 −0.044 to 0.012 0.006 −0.022 to 0.034 0.84
    Subscapular (mm, logged) −0.001 −0.003 to 0.002 0.001 −0.001 to 0.003 0.68
    Triceps (mm, logged) −0.001 −0.003 to 0.002 0.001 −0.001 to 0.004 0.26
    Obesity 1.01 0.99 to 1.03 1.01 0.99 to 1.03 0.33
    Overweight/obesity 1.00 0.99 to 1.01 1.01 0.99 to 1.02 0.33
Age at introduction of complementary foods (per categorya)
    BMI (kg/m2) −0.25 −0.41 to −0.10 −0.23 −0.40 to −0.06 0.74
    Waist (cm) −0.70 −1.08 to −0.33 −0.58 −0.97 to −0.18 0.40
    Percentage body fat −0.31 −0.56 to −0.06 −0.19 −0.44 to 0.07 0.84
    Subscapular (mm, logged) −0.05 −0.07 to −0.02 −0.03 −0.05 to −0.01 0.38
    Triceps (mm, logged) −0.03 −0.06 to −0.01 −0.01 −0.03 to 0.02 0.55
    Obesity 0.90 0.77 to 1.06 0.91 0.77 to 1.08 0.84
    Overweight/obesity 0.88 0.80 to 0.97 0.88 0.80 to 0.98 0.60

Data were analysed using linear regression (continuous outcomes, B is the regression coefficient) or logistic regression (dichotomous outcomes, OR). Model 1 adjusted for subject’s age and sex only; Model 2 further adjusted for confounders (maternal SES, education, age, smoking, race, and rural/urban residence, and birth weight) and adult height; p-het is the test for heterogeneity of the coefficient of Model 2 across studies.

aCategories are as indicated in Table 2. There were no non-linear associations with age at introduction of complementary foods, and these data have been omitted.