Vitamin A status and body composition in Mexican lactating women from rural and urban areas using the stable isotope “dose to the mother” technique (645.11)

Abstract

Objective: To assess the association between breast milk vitamin A (VA) concentration and body composition in lactating Mexican women from rural and urban areas. Methods: Milk production was assessed with the dose to the mother method (DTM), briefly deuterated water is administered to the mother and the appearance of the isotope is measured in the breastfed child’s and mother’s saliva; deuterium enrichment (stable isotope) is analyzed by FTIR, and additional to breast milk production we can also assess the mother’s body composition. Breast milk (BM) retinol was determined by HPLC and the cutoff to define VA deficiency was 1.05 µmol/L. Results: Subjects were 27 and 32 women from urban and rural areas of northwest Mexico, respectively. 53% of women had VA deficiency, and prevalence was similar for both areas (P=0.735). BM retinol concentration was lower for the rural area (P=0.038). When using WHO cutoff points for body fat percentage for non‐lactating women, 63 % and 56% of the study subjects had increased body fat. There was a tendency in reduction of BM Retinol when body fat increases (r= ‐ 0.251; P=0.055). Conclusion: Increase in body fat has a negative impact on BM retinol concentration of lactating women from rural and urban areas of northwest Mexico.Grant Funding Source: Supported by Universidad de Sonora