Table V.
Summary of studies that examined effects of age at weaning on infant growth
| Authors | Year | Sample size, country | Weaning age, mo | Reported effect or association with age at weaning | Potential Confounders Considered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randomized controlled trials | |||||
| Jonsdottir et al21 | 2012 | N = 100, Iceland | 4 vs 6 | No effect on weight gain from 0-4 (P = .51), 4-6 (P = .90), or 0-6 mo (P = .71) No effect on length gain from 0-4 (P = .40), 4-6 (P = .96), or 0-6 mo (P = .85) |
NA |
| Mehta et al22 | 1998 | N = 147, US | 3-4 vs 6 | No effect on weight at 3 (P = .47), 6 (P = .71), or 12 mo (P = .60) No effect on length at 3 (P = .50), 6 (P = .39), or 12 mo (P = .90) |
NA |
| Observational studies | |||||
| Moss and Yeaton12 | 2014 | N = 7200, US | <4, 4-5, ≥6 | Inverse association. Compared with <4 mo, age at weaning 4-5 or ≥6 was associated with lower odds of BMI ≥95th percentile at 24 mo (P < .001 and P < .05) | Sex, BW, poverty, race, maternal education, maternal age, BF |
| van Rossem et al15 | 2013 | N = 3184, The Netherlands | 0-3, 3-6, ≥6 | No association with change in weight-for-height after weaning to 12 mo Other: Before weaning, infants weaned at 3-6 mo had a larger increase in weight-for-height (P < .05) than those weaned at 0-3 or ≥6 mo. |
Age, sex, maternal education, ethnicity, maternal BMI, smoking in pregnancy, BF, food allergies, hospitalizations |
| Grote et al23 | 2011 | N = 671, Europe | ≤3.25, 3.5-4.25, 4.5-5.25, >5.5 | Nonlinear association with weight (P = .027) and length (P = .049) at 24 mo Nonlinear association with weight-for-age (P = .005) and BMI-for-age (P = .011) trajectories at 0-24 mo No association with BMI (P = .220) or weight-for-length (P = .127) at 24 mo No association with weight-for-length (P = .084) or length-for-age (P = .127) trajectories at 0-24 mo |
Age, sex, size at ∼2 weeks, and country of birth Only formula fed infants |
| Mihrshahi et al24 | 2011 | N = 612, Australia | <4, ≥4 | No association with rapid weight gain between birth to 4-7 mo (P = .476) | Age, sex, maternal BMI, and maternal age |
| Baird et al13 | 2008 | N = 1733, UK | <3, 3, 4, ≥5 | Inverse association with weight (P = .008) and length (P = .002) at 6 mo No association with weight gain (P = .345) or length gain (P = .111) at 0-6 mo |
Sex, maternal education, parity, smoking in pregnancy, BF |
| Sloan et al14 | 2008 | N = 216, Ireland | <4, ≥4 | Inverse association with weight at 7 mo (P = .046), weight at 14 mo (P = .035), and weight gain in 2-14 mo (P = .029) Other: no association with weight at birth (P = .15) or 2 mo (P = .56) |
Age, sex, BF |
| Kupperberg and Evers25 | 2006 | N = 102, Canada | Not categorized | No association with BMI >85th percentile at 3 or 18 mo (P > .05) | |
| Lande et al26 | 2005 | N = 1441, Norway | ≤4, 4-5, >5 | No association with BMI at 12 mo Other: Inverse association with ponderal index at birth (P = .02) |
Sex, size at birth, BF, diet at 12 mo. |
| Baker et al16 | 2004 | N = 3768, Denmark | <4, ≥4 | Inverse association with weight gain 0-12 mo (P = .0019) Other: No association with birth weight (P = .50); weaker effect with longer BF duration (interaction P = .0021) |
Age, sex, parity, gestational weight gain, duration of gestation, smoking in pregnancy, BW, length at 1 yr |
| Morgan et al32,∗ | 2004 | N = 1694, UK | ≤3, >3 | Positive association with weight gain (P = .020) and length gain (P = .011) at 3-18 mo Inverse association with weight (P < .001) and length (P = .01) at 3 mo. No association with weight or length at 18 mo |
Sex, size at 3 mo, size for gestational age at birth, BF |
| Wright et al27 | 2004 | N = 707, UK | Not categorized | Inverse association with weight gain 0-1.5 mo (P < .001) and weight at 0 (P = .04), 1.5 (P < .001), and 3 mo (P < .001) No association with weight gain at 1.5-12 mo (P = .45) |
|
| Haschke and van't Hof17 | 2000 | N = 504, Europe | <4, ≥4 | Positive association with length gain from 1-24 mo (P = .01), weight gain from 1-12 mo (P = .002), BMI gain from 1-12 mo (P = .002), BMI at 1-18 mo (P < .05), and weight at 3-6 mo (P < .05) Inverse association with length at 1-3 and 5-6 mo (P < .05) No association with length gain at 1-12 mo, weight gain at 1-24 mo, or BMI gain at 1-24 mo Other: Significant interaction between age at weaning and breastfeeding duration only from 1-4 mo |
Age, sex, maternal education, mid-parental height, BF |
| Forsyth et al33,∗ | 1993 | N = 671, Scotland | <2, 2-3, >3 | Inverse association with weight at 1 (P = .001), 2 (P = .003), 3.25 (P = .006), and 6.5 mo (P = .009) No association with weight at 13 mo (P = .30) or 26 mo (P = .70) |
Sex, BW, maternal height, BF |
| Heinig et al28 | 1993 | N = 105, US | 4-6.5, ≥6.5 | Inverse association with weight gain at 6-9 mo (P < .05) in BF infants No association with weight gain at 0-4, 4-6, or 9-12 mo or length gain at 0-12 mo in BF infants No association with weight or length gain in formula-fed infants |
Sex, weight gain from 0-4 mo. Stratified by BF |
| Whitehead et al30 | 1986 | N = 37, UK | <4, ≥4 (boys) <5, ≥5 (girls) |
Inverse association with weight and length trajectories at 6-12 mo | Age, sex Only BF infants |
| Kramer et al31 | 1985 | N = 361, Canada | 2, 4, 6 | Inverse association with weight at 6 mo (P < .001) and 12 mo (P < .001) | Age, sex, BW |
| Salmenpera et al29 | 1985 | N = 198, Finland | 3, >6 | Inverse association with length gain 3-6 mo (P < .01), 6-9 mo (P < .05), and 9-12 mo (P < .001), and weight gain at 6-9 mo (P < .01) and 9-12 mo (P < .001) No association with length gain at 0-3 mo, weight gain at 0-6 mo, length at 9 mo, or weight at 9 mo |
|
BW, birth weight; BF, breast-feeding.
∗
Studies examined association only with very early weaning.