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Vitamin B-12 Concentrations in Breast Milk Are Low and Are Not Associated with Reported Household Hunger, Recent Animal-Source Food, or Vitamin B-12 Intake in Women in Rural Kenya.
- Source :
- Journal of Nutrition; 5/1/2016, Vol. 146 Issue 5, p1125-1131, 7p
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- <bold>Background: </bold>Breast milk vitamin B-12 concentration may be inadequate in regions in which animal-source food consumption is low or infrequent. Vitamin B-12 deficiency causes megaloblastic anemia and impairs growth and development in children.<bold>Objective: </bold>We measured vitamin B-12 in breast milk and examined its associations with household hunger, recent animal-source food consumption, and vitamin B-12 intake.<bold>Methods: </bold>In a cross-sectional substudy nested within a cluster-randomized trial assessing water, sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition interventions in Kenya, we sampled 286 women 1-6 mo postpartum. Mothers hand-expressed breast milk 1 min into a feeding after 90 min observed nonbreastfeeding. The Household Hunger Scale was used to measure hunger, food intake in the previous week was measured with the use of a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and vitamin B-12 intake was estimated by using 24-h dietary recall. An animal-source food score was based on 10 items from the FFQ (range: 0-70). Breast milk vitamin B-12 concentration was measured with the use of a solid-phase competitive chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay and was modeled with linear regression. Generalized estimating equations were used to account for correlated observations at the cluster level.<bold>Results: </bold>Median (IQR) vitamin B-12 intake was 1.5 μg/d (0.3, 9.7 μg/d), and 60% of women consumed <2.4 μg/d, the estimated average requirement during lactation. Median (IQR) breast milk vitamin B-12 concentration was 113 pmol/L (61, 199 pmol/L); 89% had concentrations <310 pmol/L, the estimated adequate concentration. Moderate or severe hunger prevalence was 27%; the animal-source food score ranged from 0 to 30 item-d/wk. Hunger and recent animal-source food and vitamin B-12 intake were not associated with breast milk vitamin B-12 concentrations. Maternal age was negatively associated with breast milk vitamin B-12 concentrations.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Most lactating Kenyan women consumed less than the estimated average requirement of vitamin B-12 and had low breast milk vitamin B-12 concentrations. We recommend interventions that improve vitamin B-12 intake in lactating Kenyan women to foster maternal health and child development. The main trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01704105. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- BREAST milk
VITAMIN B12 deficiency
FOOD of animal origin
MEGALOBLASTIC anemia
STUNTED growth
GROWTH of children
HUNGER
VITAMIN B12 metabolism
ANIMAL experimentation
VITAMIN deficiency
BREASTFEEDING
COMPARATIVE studies
DIET
FAMILIES
FOOD habits
LACTATION
RESEARCH methodology
MEDICAL cooperation
MOTHERS
NUTRITIONAL requirements
PUERPERIUM
QUESTIONNAIRES
RESEARCH
RESEARCH funding
VITAMIN B12
EVALUATION research
RANDOMIZED controlled trials
CROSS-sectional method
DISEASE complications
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 00223166
- Volume :
- 146
- Issue :
- 5
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- Journal of Nutrition
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 115172967
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.115.228189