Infanthood is seen as a crucial time for a child’s growth and development. According to a previously published study, infants that acquire weight quickly during infancy are more susceptible to ailments later in life [6, 7]. In this study, blood pressure and lipid profiles of breastfed versus formula-fed newborns were compared as a potential early CVD biomarker.
When it came to economic status, where low to moderate state was usually present in the study, we did not find any significant differences between the two groups of newborns in the current study. Apart from the availability of infant formula, it is well-recognized that several cultural, social, economic, and psychological factors influence nursing habits [8, 9]. According to the results of the current study, the BF group had significantly higher levels of triglycerides, HDL-C, LDL-C, and cholesterol (P 0.001, P = 0.02, P 0.001, and P 0.001, respectively).
In line with our findings of the present investigation, Harit et al. [10] showed that the feeding schedule influences the lipid profile in human newborns. They discovered that babies who were breastfed had considerably greater total and LDL-C. This study, however, did not support the current finding that the group of people who exclusively breastfed had significantly lower levels of HDL-C.
The similar results, which showed higher levels of LDL-C and HDL-C in the BF group, as well as the alterations between the absolute values of total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, and triglyceride in our study as compared to other studies, may be attributable to variations in a variety of factors, including methodology, blood sample type (either venous/capillary), time since the last feeding, feed preparation (dilution), and genetic makeup [11].
Another explanation for the higher total cholesterol and LDL-C levels in BF infants in our study is that breast milk contains much more cholesterol than cow’s milk, which suggests that the greater intake of dietary cholesterol may be to blame.
Another argument is that human milk contains more cofactor apo E II or has higher lipase activity, which may promote both external and endogenous lipolysis for TG and raise serum fatty acid levels [10].
It is currently unknown whether the physiological hypercholesterolemic condition experienced by exclusively BF infants throughout early infancy has any benefits for neurodevelopment. Infants who are exclusively breastfed may experience increased serum cholesterol levels during this period because infants need more cholesterol for rapid brain development, which is mostly given by docosahexaenoic acid and linolenic acid in breast milk. Additionally, due to priming, children who are exposed to high dietary cholesterol early in life are better able to handle high dietary cholesterol loads later in life [10].
Infants with higher cholesterol levels may be better prepared to produce less cholesterol later in life. Despite greater concentrations of plasma lipids later in life that are thought to be atherogenic, studies have revealed that breastfed babies had a decreased chance of evolving coronary heart disease and associated risk factors [10, 12].
In the first 3 months of life, nursing exclusively is linked to a lipid profile that is less atherogenic. Breastfeeding may be significant in preventing cardiovascular disease because it shifts the whole population’s distribution of cholesterol toward a lower level, despite its minimal effect on LDL-C.
Hiu et al. were unable to show if prolonged breastfeeding results in a longer exposure to a high-cholesterol diet during infancy, which had a negative impact on cardiovascular health through other mechanisms in their study [13].
Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids may help control blood pressure since they are crucial structural elements of tissue membrane systems, such as the vascular endothelium [14]. Interestingly, neither SBP nor DBP significantly differed between BF or formula-fed infants in the current study.
Neonatal metabolic characteristics are impacted by feeding practices. Healthy-term breastfed infants up to 1 week of age had considerably lower blood glucose levels than formula-fed infants, which may be related to the lower energy content of breast milk during the early postnatal days. However, compared to newborns who are fed formula, their ketone body concentrations are higher. During hypoglycemia, the neonatal brain is better able to utilize ketone bodies as fuel, saving glucose and preserving neurological function [15, 16].
According to our findings, there were no statistically significant connections between blood glucose levels and the other lipid profile characteristics (P > 0.05). Additionally, it was found that, apart from the negative significant association with serum triglyceride (r = − 0.39, P 0.001), the age of introduction of complementary food had an insignificant correlation with various parameters (P > 0.05).
Except for slightly greater non-HDL among the BF group, the current study’s findings regarding non-traditional lipid profiles showed that both groups had minimal differences in terms of heart disease risk. According to Timby et al., who reported similar results to the current study, both groups of babies had LDL-C/HDL-C ratios that were insignificantly different, with significantly greater non-HDL levels among the breastfed group [17].