Overview
- A University of Bergen analysis published in June 2026 used data from 37,600 families in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) to examine breastfeeding and later ADHD symptoms.
- Researchers found that longer exclusive breastfeeding up to six months was associated with lower parent‑reported ADHD symptoms at ages three, five, and eight, with the strongest differences at ages three and five.
- The study tested robustness by adjusting for measured genetic risk of ADHD, sociodemographic factors, and using sibling comparisons, and the association remained clear but moderate after those controls.
- Authors warn the design cannot prove causation and note key confounders such as parental ADHD symptoms and the possibility that infants with early behavioral differences affect breastfeeding, which could bias results.
- Because MoBa participants skew toward higher education and longer breastfeeding than the general population, the team calls for replication in more representative samples and for randomized or quasi‑experimental work before changing policy or clinical advice.