Electronic Letters to:
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eLetters: Electronic letters published:
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The same groups are less likely to breastfeed their children.
- Miriam H Labbok (6 December 2006)
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Re: The same groups are less likely to breastfeed their children.
- Daniel V Riordan, Sivasubramaniam Selvaraj, Cameron Stark (6 February 2007)
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Birth weight & Month of birth and risk of offspring suicide
- Emad Salib, Mario Cortina-Borja, Naghma Malik (9 March 2007)
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Re: Birth weight & Month of birth and risk of offspring suicide
- Daniel V Riordan, Stark Cameron (11 April 2007)
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Miriam H Labbok, Professor University of North Carolina
Send letter to journal:
Labbok{at}unc.edu Miriam H Labbok
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Dear Editors: Thank you for publishing the interesting article on Perinatal circumstances and risk of offspring suicide: Birth cohort study. Given the literature that has shown the association of lack of breastfeeding with increased anxiety in childhood, and given that lack of breastfeeding is more prevalent in the same populations that were shown in this study to be associated with increased risk of suicide, it is a pity that this study did not mention this variable. It is possible that breastfeeding is an important confounder in these findings, and certainly should have been discussed. Thank you for considering this. Sincerely, Miriam H Labbok, MD, MPH FACPM, IBCLC, FABM Professor of the Practice of Public Health Director, Center for Infant and Young Child Feeding and Care Department of Maternal and Child Health School of Public Health, CB#7445 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445 Tel: 919-966-0928 Fax: 919-966-0458 labbok@unc.edu www.sph.unc.edu/mhch/ciycfc The Center for Infant and Young Child Feeding and Care in the School of Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill was established in 2006 and exists to further statewide, national and global understanding and support for the mother/child dyad as key to the achievement of optimal infant and young child feeding and associated reproductive health. |
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Daniel V Riordan, Consultant General Adult Psychiatrist New Craigs, Inverness IV3 8NP, Sivasubramaniam Selvaraj, Cameron Stark
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vincent.riordan{at}haht.scot.nhs.uk Daniel V Riordan, et al.
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We thank professor Labbock for pointing out the possible role of breastfeeding as a confounding, or indeed mediating factor. Unfortunately data on infant feeding was not recorded in the Scottish Morbidity Record before 1992 (Britten and Broadfoot, 2000), hence was not available to our study of this cohort. Britten, J., Broadfoot, M. (2000) Breast feeding in Scotland - Statistical sources Health Bulletin 58(1) |
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Emad Salib, Consultant Psychiatrist and Honorary senior Lecturer, Liverpool University Peasley Cross Hospital, St Helens, Mario Cortina-Borja, Naghma Malik
Send letter to journal:
esalib{at}hotmail.com Emad Salib, et al.
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We enjoyed reading this excellent paper by Riordan and colleagues. The findings are indeed interesting and appear to be in keeping with the Maternal-Foetal origin hypothesis used to explain Salib & Cotina-Borja findings of the relationship between month of birth and suicide (2006). We believe that those born during spring and early summer months and who have been shown to have a higher risk of suicide in adulthood (Salib & Cortina Borja 2006) may have had low birth weight. Unfortunately such data was not available for the study and it was hoped that future studies would explore birth weight as a possible risk factor for suicide in adult life. We wonder whether the authors collected month birth data in relation to their findings of low birth weight for those who later committed suicide in adulthood. If so, it would be most interesting to see whether Birth weight-Month of birth relationship in Riordan et al data is in keeping with the increased risk reported by us for those born in spring & early summer. Salib E., Cortina-Borja M (2006) Month of birth and risk of suicide Birtish Journal of Psychiatry 2006, 188, 416-422 |
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Daniel V Riordan, Consultant General Adult Psychiatrist New Craigs, Inverness IV3 8NP, Stark Cameron
Send letter to journal:
vincent.riordan{at}haht.scot.nhs.uk Daniel V Riordan, et al.
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Season of birth did not form part of the original aims of our study and therefore was not included in the dataset extracted from the Scottish Morbidity Record (SMR). We agree that such data should indeed be incorporated into future work. Although our birth cohort study, with 1,464 suicide cases, could not match the statistical power of the 26,915 suicides in the retrospective study by Salib & Cotina-Borja (2006), a higher effect size might be expected from a birth cohort, as data would be confined to those born and dying in Scotland, removing the confounding influence of persons born in the Southern hemisphere. Salib E., Cortina-Borja M (2006) Month of birth and risk of suicide Birtish Journal of Psychiatry 2006, 188, 416-422 |
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