Associations of infant nutrition with insulin resistance measures in early adulthood: evidence from the Barry-Caerphilly Growth (BCG) study.

Previous studies suggest that over-nutrition in early infancy may programme long-term susceptibility to insulin resistance.To assess the association of breast milk and quantity of infant formula and cows' milk intake during infancy with insulin resistance measures in early adulthood.Long-term follow-up of the Barry Caerphilly Growth cohort, into which mothers and their offspring had originally been randomly assigned, between 1972-1974, to receive milk supplementation or not. Participants were the offspring, aged 23-27 years at follow-up (n = 679). Breastfeeding and formula/cows' milk intake was recorded prospectively by nurses. The main outcomes were insulin sensitivity (ISI(0)) and insulin secretion (CIR(30)).573 (84%) individuals had valid glucose and insulin results and complete covariate information. There was little evidence of associations of breastfeeding versus any formula/cows' milk feeding or of increasing quartiles of formula/cows' milk consumption during infancy (