Sex‐specific association of human milk hormones and asthma in the CHILD cohort.

Here, using data from the Canadian CHILD Cohort Study, we performed a sex-stratified analysis of human milk adiponectin, leptin, and insulin concentrations and their association with possible or probable asthma development by 3 years of age. For this analysis, asthma was classified as "possible or probable asthma" or "no asthma." Milk hormone concentrations did not differ in milk produced for sons vs. daughters (Table, Figure A); however, sex-specific associations were observed between milk hormone concentrations and child asthma (Table, Figure B). It is known that circulating leptin can stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, potentially mediating the asthma-obesity axis; however, it is not known whether leptin in human milk can trigger similar responses. [Extracted from the article]