Objective: In this study, we searched the effects of breastfeeding, especially the effects of the period of breast feeding on the development of type-2 diabetes in women.
Method: The study included 410 participants who were type-2 diabetic and 410 participants who were non-diabetic. The age of the participants were among 40 and 65. The study was carried out retrospectively. The non-diabetic group was composed of the participants whose the blood glucose levels and the oral glucose tolerance (OGTT) test results had been normal for 3 months. All of the participants were researched and questioned for their education levels, how many children they had, their ages of first pregnancy, how long they had breastfeed and how long they had been diabetic.
Result: It was found out that the median value of the total period of diabetic participants breastfeeding was 18 months and the median value of the total period of the non-diabetic participants breast feeding was 22 months (p>0.05). When we categorized the total perid of breastfeeding as less than 3 months, more than 3 months, less than 6 months, 6-12 months, 12 months and more than 12 months, meaningful difference wasnt found out in terms of total period of breastfeeding for both of the groups (p>0.05). When we categorized the period of breastfeeding as at least 3 months at a time or 6 months at a time, the rates of breastfeeding for 3 months were found out to be similar for both groups; however, the rates of breastfeeding for 6 months at a time were found out to be higher in the non-diabetic participants than in the diabetic participants (p>0.05).
Conclusion: The rates breastfeeding for at least 6 months were found out to be higher in non-diabetic participants. We didnt find out that there were effects of total period of breastfeeding on the development of diabetes. However, we found out that the development of diabetes decreased meaningfully during the period of breastfeeding for more than 6 months at a time.
Key words: Diabetes, duration of breastfeeding
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