Breastfeeding practices and head circumference in young children: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To review observational studies on the association between breastfeeding (BF) practices and head circumference (HC) of children < 2 years old. METHODS: A systematic review was conducted using the following electronic databases of health sciences: PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (Lilacs), Web of Science and Scopus. We selected observational studies published in any language from January 01, 2010 to November 19, 2021, from different populations that investigated the association between BF practice and HC among healthy children < 2 years old. Titles and abstracts were screened independently by two evaluators. RESULTS: From the 4,229 articles identified, 24 were included in this review: 6 cross-sectional, 17 longitudinal, and 1 case-control. The studies varied in their definition of the variables for BF and in reporting its practice, frequency, duration, and feeding method. Regarding HC, the authors analyzed the mean differences, abnormal values (z-score above + 2SD or below -2SD according to the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards, 2007), and longitudinal growth parameters. The findings of this review suggest that BF may have a positive relationship with HC at the beginning of life. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that BF, especially exclusive BF, may play a protective role against abnormal HC values in young children. However, more robust evidence with standardized BF indicators and WHO growth standards (2007) are required.

Breastfeeding practices and head circumference in young children: a systematic review

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To review observational studies on the association between breastfeeding (BF) practices and head circumference (HC) of children < 2 years old. METHODS A systematic review was conducted using the following electronic databases of health sciences: PubMed, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (Lilacs), Web of Science and Scopus. We selected observational studies published in any language from January 01, 2010 to November 19, 2021, from different populations that investigated the association between BF practice and HC among healthy children < 2 years old. Titles and abstracts were screened independently by two evaluators. RESULTS From the 4,229 articles identified, 24 were included in this review: 6 cross-sectional, 17 longitudinal, and 1 case-control. The studies varied in their definition of the variables for BF and in reporting its practice, frequency, duration, and feeding method. Regarding HC, the authors analyzed the mean differences, abnormal values (z-score above + 2SD or below -2SD according to the World Health Organization (WHO) growth standards, 2007), and longitudinal growth parameters. The findings of this review suggest that BF may have a positive relationship with HC at the beginning of life. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that BF, especially exclusive BF, may play a protective role against abnormal HC values in young children. However, more robust evidence with standardized BF indicators and WHO growth standards (2007) are required.

Impacto do consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados na microbiota intestinal na infância / Impact of ultra-processed foods consumption on the infant gut microbiota

Objetivo: Investigar o impacto do consumo de alimentos ultraprocessados (AUP) na diversidade da microbiota intestinal no primeiro ano de vida dos participantes do Estudo MINA-Brasil. Métodos: O estudo foi realizado com participantes do seguimento de um ano da coorte de nascimento de base populacional Estudo MINA-Brasil, com coleta de microbiota intestinal (n=728). O consumo alimentar foi medido por recordatório alimentar semiestruturado referente à alimentação no dia anterior à entrevista. Uma variável combinada de aleitamento materno e AUP foi gerada (mama sim/não; AUP sim/não), considerando "sim" o consumo de ao menos um AUP (macarrão instantâneo, salgadinhos, embutidos, bebidas açucaradas e guloseimas). Um modelo hierárquico conceitual foi utilizado para seleção de covariáveis segundo níveis de determinação (p<0,05) nos modelos múltiplos finais. Coeficientes de regressão mediana com ajuste múltiplo (IC95%) foram analisados com a diversidade alfa da microbiota intestinal como variável dependente. A diversidade beta da microbiota intestinal foi analisada por PCoA e PERMANOVA. A abundância diferencial foi realizada por ANCOM-BC e árvore de calor filogenética, corrigida por FDR. Análises foram realizadas nos softwares Stata 16.0 e R. Resultados: O consumo de embutidos, salgadinhos e macarrão instantâneo (≥1 vez/dia) ou de qualquer tipo de AUP (≥2 vezes/dia) foi positivamente associado aos parâmetros de alfa diversidade. Crianças desmamadas que consumiam AUP associaram-se positivamente aos parâmetros de alfa diversidade, em relação ao grupo de crianças amamentadas que não consumiam AUP. O consumo de AUP não se associou à filogenia, sendo distinta apenas entre grupos de práticas de aleitamento materno contrastantes (mama sim ou não), segundo análises de beta diversidade e árvore de calor de abundância diferencial filogenética. Apesar disso, a prática de consumo de AUP induziu diferenças na diversidade e abundância dentro dos mesmos ramos filogenéticos. Conclusão: O aleitamento materno conseguiu atenuar o impacto do consumo de AUP, sendo observadas diferenças nos parâmetros de diversidade e abundância dos mesmos ramos filogenéticos, protegendo a microbiota intestinal de uma maturidade precoce no primeiro ano de vida.

Objective: To investigate the impact of consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPF) on the diversity of the gut microbiota in the first year of life of participants in the MINA-Brasil Study. Methods: The study was carried out with participants from the one-year follow-up of the population-based birth cohort Study MINA-Brazil, with gut microbiota collection (n=728). Diet was measured using a semi structured questionnaire referring to the diet on the day before the interview. A combined variable of breastfeeding and UPF was generated (breastfeeding yes/no; UPF yes/no), considering "yes" the consumption of at least one UPF (instant noodles, snacks, sausages, sugary drinks and candy). A conceptual hierarchical model was used to select covariates according to levels of determination (p<0.05) in the final multiple models. Median regression coefficients with multiple adjustment (95% CI) were analyzed with alpha diversity of the gut microbiota as the dependent variable. The beta diversity of the gut microbiota was analyzed by PCoA and PERMANOVA. Differential abundance was performed by ANCOM-BC and phylogenetic heat tree, corrected by FDR. Analyzes were performed using Stata 16.0 and R software. Results: Consumption of sausages, snacks and instant noodles (≥1 time/day) or any type of UPF (≥2 times/day) was positively associated with alpha diversity parameters. Weaned children who consumed UPF were positively associated with the alpha diversity parameters, in relation to the group of breastfed children who did not consume UPF, indicating more distinct bacteria. UPF consumption was not associated with phylogeny, being distinct only between groups of contrasting breastfeeding practices (yes or not), according to analyzes of beta diversity and heat tree of phylogenetic differential abundance. Despite this, the practice of UPF consumption induced differences in diversity and abundance within the same phylogenetic branches. Conclusion: Breastfeeding was able to mitigate the impact of UPF consumption, with differences being observed in the diversity and abundance parameters of the same phylogenetic branches, protecting the gut microbiota from premature maturity in the first year of life.