Paper
Paper
Abstract Objectives To evaluate the correlation between breast milk retinol concentration and general parameters of obesity in lactating women. Methods This is a cross-sectional study design. Participants were 21 lactating women between 54.2 ± 2.35 d postpartum, and who declared exclusive or predominant breastfeeding practices. A casual sample of breast milk (∼3 mL) was collected and breast milk retinol was analyzed by HPLC. General anthropometric measurements (weight, height, waist and hip circumference) were performed. The Spearman test was used to assess the correlation between the variables. Results Participating lactating women were 19–34 y of age. Breast milk retinol concentration was 1.84 ± 0.84 µmol/L; 38.1% (n = 8) of lactating women had low breast milk concentration of vitamin A (< 1.05 µmol/L). Body Mass Index (BMI) was 26.7 ± 4.32; 33.3% of the women had a normal BMI, 52.4% were overweight and 14.3% were obese. Waist (83.2 ± 8.81 cm) and hip circumference (104 ± 9.35 cm), were also recorded. BMI (r = −0.551, p = 0.010), waist (r = −0.480, p = 0.028) and hip circumference (r = −0.484, p = 0.030) negatively correlated with retinol concentrations in breast milk. Conclusions In this group of women, breast milk retinol concentration was lower in women with higher BMI, waist and hip circumference. Funding Sources JA-P received a fellowship from the Mexican National Research and Technology Council.