London: Breastfed babies may cope with stress better in later life than those bottle-fed, according to a new study.
Researchers studied almost 9,000 children who were part of the 1970 British study and obtained their feeding history.
The study included factors that might influence or be linked with a child's reactions to stress and coping mechanisms, including maternal depression, parental education levels, their social class, and smoking habits.
When the children were 10 years old, their teachers were also asked to rate the anxiety of their pupils on a scale of zero to 50.
The parents were interviewed about major family disruption, including divorce or separation, which had occurred when their child was between 5 and 10 years of age.
When all the data were analysed, the findings pointed to a greater likelihood of high anxiety among children whose parents had divorced or separated.
Children who had been breastfed were significantly less anxious than their peers who had not been breastfed, reported the health portal News Medical.
Breastfed children were almost twice as likely to be highly anxious, while children who had been bottle fed were over 9 times as likely to be highly anxious about parental divorce/separation, the study said.
The scientists emphasise that their research does not prove that breastfeeding itself makes children cope better with life stress; rather, it may be a marker of some other maternal or parental factors, they say.
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