Breastfeeding; a lucrative procedure, manipulating pediatric liver disease prevalence

Introduction: Liver disease are multifactorial disorders affected by genetic, dietary intake, physical inactivity and environment. There is remarkable evidence indicating that liver complications development in children and adolescents may have it’s origins in infancy. Due to the high prevalence of different liver impairments, tremendous amount of research has been done on this issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of breastfeeding and pediatric liver disease prevention.Methods: This study was a library-based research, using the published articles in scientific databases including PubMed and Google Scholar from 2004 to 2019 on breastfeeding and it’s liver protective effects. Results: The significant role of breastfeeding in liver disease prevention has been established through all the examined studies. Early cessation of lactation and supplementary milk intake have been proved to stimulate liver complications progress. Evaluative measurements like liver enzymes assessment, using ultrasound and biopsy confirm that adherence to WHO recommendations, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, introducing appropriate complementary feeding from 6 months and continuing the breastfeeding to 24 months, reduce the risk of later morbidities, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. This protective effect increases with each month of breastfeeding more than 6 months. On the other hand, advent of these predicaments at the age of 3 to 18, were more conceivable in cases breast fed for less than 4 months. Obesity and gut microbiome changes might be two possible mechanisms.Conclusion: NAFLD and other liver disorders are multi organ failures contributing to noncommunicable disease. Controlling this ever-growing concern necessitates precisely organized programming from ante-natal period. Breastfeeding is one of the most influential approaches reducing pediatric liver disease pervasion. However, further exploration on this issue is required.

Keywords:

liver disease , pediatric , breastfeeding , NAFLD , infant nutrition