Trends and Regional Differences in Breastfeeding in Germany From 1871 To 1937

This article describes trends and regional differences in breastfeeding within Germany from 1870 to 1937. Sharp regional differences in both the in cidence and duration of breastfeeding are present around 1910. There is a com plex pattern of trends in infant-feeding practices. Breastfeeding declined in urban areas between the late nineteenth century and the first World War. A strong nationwide resurgence in the incidence of breastfeeding occurred between the two world wars, accompanied by a decline in the average duration of breastfeeding. By 1937, the formerly great regional differences in breastfeeding had nearly dis appeared. The article also discusses social, economic, cultural, and historical variables affecting infant-feeding practices, including local breastfeeding customs, a national infant welfare campaign, and allowances to nursing mothers.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67272/2/10.1177_036319908501000203.pd

The impact of breastfeeding patterns on regional differences in infant mortality in Germany, 1910

This paper examines the impact of breastfeeding practices on the large regional differences in infant mortality in Germany around 1910. Breastfeeding is strongly negatively associated with infant mortality and remains so after controlling for public health measures and for demographic, economic, and social factors that also affect infant mortality. But it contributes much less to regional differences in infant mortality than do access to medical care, percentage illegitimate and marital fertility. Breastfeeding is less important than these other factors because it affects fewer causes of death and has a smaller impact on cause-specific infant mortality rates. L'auteur étudie l'impact des pratiques d'allaitement sur les grandes différences régionales de mortalité infantile observées en Allemagne aux alentours de 1910. Il existe une association fortement négative entre l'allaitement et la mortalité infantile, même quand on contrôle les facteurs démographiques, économiques, sociaux et de politique sanitaire, qui, eux aussi, affectent la mortalité infantile. Mais les différences régionales de mortalité infantile s'expliquent nettement moins par l'allaitement que par l'accessibilité des soins médicaux, le taux d'illégitimité des naissances et la fécondité légitime. L'allaitement est un facteur de moindre importance que ceux-ci parce qu'il n'a d'impact que sur un petit nombre de causes de décès, et un faible impact sur les taux de mortalité infantile par cause.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42730/1/10680_2005_Article_BF01796777.pd

"Can breast feeding help you in later life? Evidence from German military heights in the early 20th century"

Considerable literature exists on the benefits of breast feeding on the health and survival of infants and young children, but there is less on the effects on later life outcomes. One such measure of health and well-being that has received attention in the historical literature is terminal adult stature. Information on height is rather widely available; however, it is much more difficult to obtain data on breast feeding. One country that does have such information is Imperial Germany (1871-1919). A number of physicians and local health officials collected information on the incidence and duration of breast feeding early in the 20th century, particularly because of concern about the unusually high infant mortality rates in parts of Germany. Hallie Kintner has surveyed the published results of these studies. The information on the prevalence of breast feeding for the period 1903/10 has been inputed into a database of demographic and economic variables for the counties (Regierungsbezirke) of Germany (1850-1939). There are also published data on heights of military recruits from the Imperial German military forces in 1906. These can be linked to areas in the database and related to breast feeding practices and infant mortality both contemporaneously and approximately 20 years previous to 1906. Results indicate a significant effect of infant feeding practices on later life outcomes operating through infant health conditions, proxied by the infant mortality rate.Human heights Military personnel Infant mortality Breast feeding Germany

Loss of 15-Hydroxyprostaglandin Dehydrogenase Expression Contributes to Bladder Cancer Progression

Prostaglandin E2, which is known to contribute to cancer progression, is inactivated by the catabolic enzyme, 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase (PGDH), which has tumor-suppressor activity in lung, colon, breast, and gastric cancers. Therefore, we evaluated the expression of PGDH in human bladder cancer tissue specimens and cell lines. Immunoperoxidase staining of bladder cancer tissues demonstrated that (1) PGDH is highly expressed by normal urothelial cells but (2) reduced in many low stage (Ta/Tis) bladder cancers, and (3) PGDH is completely lost in most invasive bladder cancers. Of eight cancer cell lines tested, only two relatively well-differentiated bladder cancer cell lines, RT4 and UM-UC9, expressed PGDH. Moreover, inhibition of PGDH expression in well-differentiated RT4 cells using small inhibitory RNA or short hairpin RNA resulted in a more aggressive phenotype with increased motility and anchorage-independent growth. Additionally, PGDH knockdown affected prostaglandin E2 signaling as measured by cAMP generation. These data indicate that loss of PGDH expression contributes to a more malignant bladder cancer phenotype and may be necessary for bladder cancer development and/or progression