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10 Jan Breastfeeding Linked With Right Handedness

Posted at 17:14h in Author Interviews, Pediatrics by

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

PHILIPPE P. HUJOEL PhD, DDS, MSD, MS Professor, Oral Health Sciences Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology Adjunct Professor, Periodontics Dental Public Health Sciences, School of Dentistry University of Washington

Dr. Hujoel

PHILIPPE P. HUJOEL PhD, DDS, MSD, MS
Professor, Oral Health Sciences
Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology
Adjunct Professor, Periodontics
Dental Public Health Sciences, School of Dentistry
University of Washington

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: In 2012, an economist, Kevin Denny, identified an association between breastfeeding and handedness.  The newly published study attempted to refute this association in a larger population, and with more control for potential confounding variables.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: The study failed in its attempt to refute -breastfeeding was associated with handedness in a population of about 60,000+ mother-infant pairs.  Furthermore, a dose-response relationship was identified during the first 9 months of infant life – the longer the duration of breastfeeding, the higher the prevalence of right handedness.    Breastfeeding after the age of nine months could no longer be associated with the future handedness of the infant.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: That the critical window for brain lateralization – when it comes to handedness –  starts somewhere at the end of the first trimester of pregnancy, and finishes  around the 9 month of infant life.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work? 

Response: It would be fascinating to study the interaction between genetics – which in part determines handedness – and breastfeeding.

Citation:

Philippe P. Hujoel (2018) Breastfeeding and handedness: a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data, Laterality: Asymmetries of Body, Brain and Cognition, DOI: 10.1080/1357650X.2018.1555254

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Last Updated on January 10, 2019 by Marie Benz MD FAAD

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