Journal of Peking University (Health Sciences) ›› 2024, Vol. 56 ›› Issue (5): 794-801. doi: 10.19723/j.issn.1671-167X.2024.05.007

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Nutritional status and influencing factors of breast milk vitamin A among lactating women in three regions of Chin

Jing QIN1,2, Yubo ZHOU1,2,*(), Hongtian LI1,2, Ying MENG1,2, Jianmeng LIU1,2,*()   

  1. 1. Institute of Reproductive and Child Health, Peking University; National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Beijing 100191, China
    2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing 100191, China
  • Received:2021-02-27 Online:2024-10-18 Published:2024-10-16
  • Contact: Yubo ZHOU, Jianmeng LIU E-mail:zhouyubo@bjmu.edu.cn;liujm@pku.edu.cn

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Abstract:

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status of vitamin A (VitA) in breast milk and its influencing factors among lactating women in the Weihai, Yueyang, and Baotou of China. Methods: From May to July 2014, 403 lactating mothers at (42±7) d postpartum were recruited from three Chinese cities, Weihai in Shandong Province, Yueyang in Hunan Province, and Baotou in Inner Mongolia. Basic information of lactating women and newborns and fish intake information of the lactating women in the last month were collected. The concentration of retinol in breast milk was collected and measured using high-performance liquid chromatography to determine the levels of VitA. According to the breast milk retinol concentration, the nutritional status of breast milk VitA among the lactating women was divi-ded into deficiency (< 1.05 μmol/L) and sufficient (≥1.05 μmol/L). The multivariate quantile regression was used to calculate the adjusted breast milk retinol concentrations. The Kruskal-Wallis H test and the Mann-Whitney U test were used to test the difference of breast milk retinol concentration according to the characteristics of the lactating women. The Logistic regression was used to analyze the effect of characteristics of lactating women on breast milk VitA deficiency. Results: The M (P25, P75) of breast milk retinol concentration among the Chinese lactating women was 1.15 (0.83, 1.49) μmol/L. Multivariate analysis showed that the adjusted breast milk retinol concentration was related to the regions, maternal age, ethnicity, education levels, body mass index (BMI), parity, gestational age, delivery modes, breastfeeding practice, fish intake and birth weight of the infants. The prevalence of VitA deficiency in breast milk among all the lactating women was 41.9%. In Weihai, Yueyang, and Baotou, the prevalence rates were 34.8%, 39.6%, and 51.5%, respectively. Compared with the women in Weihai, the adjusted OR for breast milk VitA deficiency among the women in Baotou was 1.75 (95%CI: 1.05-2.92). Compared with the women having college and above education, the adjusted OR for breast milk VitA deficiency among those having junior high school and below education were 2.16 (95%CI: 1.10-4.24). Compared with women with low fish intake, the adjusted OR for breast milk VitA deficiency among those with high fish intake were 0.55 (95%CI: 0.36-0.84). Conclusion: The prevalence of breast milk VitA deficiency among the Chinese lactating women was 41.9%, suggesting that breast milk VitA deficiency in lactating women and inadequate VitA intake for infants were common in China. The women in Baotou, low educational status and low fish intake increased the risk of breast milk VitA deficiency, suggesting that attention should be paid to the nutritional status of lactating women in underdeveloped regions such as inland region, and education for health should be enhanced and food containing VitA such as fish intake should be increased.

Key words: Vitamin A, Lactating women, Breast milk

CLC Number: 

  • R153.1

Table 1

Retinol concentration in breast milk and vitamin A deficiency in breast milk among lactating women"

Characteristics Cases, n (%) Retinol concentration /(μmol/L) Vitamin A deficiency
M (P25, P75) P value Cases, n (%) χ2 P value
Mothers
 1Regions 0.008 8.15 0.017
  Weihai 135 (33.5) 1.20 (0.91, 1.57)b 47 (34.8)a
  Yueyang 134 (33.3) 1.20 (0.88, 1.54)ab 53 (39.6)a
  Baotou 134 (33.3) 1.03 (0.72, 1.39)a 69 (51.5)b
 Age /years 0.113 1.91 0.384
  <25 60 (14.9) 1.05 (0.73, 1.37)   30 (50.0)
  25-<30 251 (62.3) 1.16 (0.81, 1.48) 101 (40.2)
  ≥30 92 (22.8) 1.16 (0.88, 1.68) 38 (41.3)
 Ethnicity 0.491 0.50 0.478
  Han 385 (95.5) 1.16 (0.83, 1.49) 160 (41.6)
  Others 18 (4.5) 1.05 (0.83, 1.32) 9 (50.0)
 Education levels 0.125 5.17 0.075
  College or above 270 (67.0) 1.18 (0.85, 1.55) 105 (38.9)
  High school 91 (22.6) 1.09 (0.78, 1.38) 40 (44.0)
  Middle school or less 42 (10.4) 1.01 (0.84, 1.32) 24 (57.1)
 Body mass index /(kg/m2) 0.038 5.19 0.075
  <18.5 9 (2.2) 1.40 (1.17, 1.94) 2 (22.2)
  18.5-<25 273 (67.7) 1.18 (0.85, 1.54) 107 (39.2)
  ≥25 121 (30.0) 1.05 (0.81, 1.31) 60 (49.6)
 Parity 0.958 0.06 0.812
  Nulliparous 343 (85.1) 1.15 (0.82, 1.50) 143 (41.7)
  Multiparous 60 (14.9) 1.14 (0.85, 1.43) 26 (43.3)
 Gestational age /weeks 0.060 2.80 0.277
  <37 16 (4.0) 1.37 (1.05, 1.91) 4 (25.0)
  37-<42 379 (94.0) 1.13 (0.81, 1.47) 163 (43.0)
  ≥42 8 (2.0) 1.26 (1.13, 1.51) 2 (25.0)
 Delivery modes 0.753 1.28 0.258
  Vaginal delivery 242 (60.0) 1.16 (0.84, 1.45) 96 (39.7)
  Cesarean section 161 (40.0) 1.11 (0.81, 1.54) 73 (45.3)
 Breastfeeding practice 0.002 2.29 0.130
  Exclusively breastfeeding 240 (59.6) 1.11 (0.75, 1.38)a 108 (45.0)
  Partially breastfeeding 163 (40.4) 1.20 (0.92, 1.66)b 61 (37.4)
 Fish /(g/d) <0.001 13.02 <0.001
  ≤30 203 (50.4) 1.04 (0.74, 1.34)a 103 (50.7)b
  >30 200 (49.6) 1.23 (0.93, 1.68)b 66 (33.0)a
Infants
 Gender 0.554 0.39 0.531
  Male 212 (52.6) 1.13 (0.81, 1.53) 92 (43.4)
  Female 191 (47.4) 1.17 (0.85, 1.45) 77 (40.3)
 Birth weight /g 0.591 0.81 0.760
  <2 500 5 (1.2) 0.99 (0.99, 2.63) 3 (60.0)
  2 500-<4 000 358 (88.8) 1.15 (0.83, 1.46) 150 (41.9)
  ≥4 000 40 (9.9) 1.24 (0.82, 1.65) 16 (40.0)

Table 2

Multivariate quantile regression results from the adjusted models for retinol concentration in breast milk among lactating women"

Characteristics Adjusted M (P25, P75) P value Coefficients (95%CI) P value
Mothers
 Regions <0.001
  Weihai 1.18 (0.88, 1.56)b Ref.
  Yueyang 1.19 (0.87, 1.58)b 0.02 (-0.16, 0.10) 0.847
  Baotou 1.03 (0.70, 1.33)a -0.07 (-0.22, 0.02) 0.381
 Age/years 0.003
  <25 1.07 (0.70, 1.38)a -0.01 (-0.26, 0.08) 0.878
  25-<30 1.13 (0.81, 1.48)b Ref.
  ≥30 1.19 (0.91, 1.65)b -0.01 (-0.12, 0.15) 0.857
 Ethnicity 0.008
  Han 1.14 (0.84, 1.49)b Ref.
  Others 1.00 (0.84, 1.19)a -0.17 (-0.24, 0.06) 0.190
 Education levels <0.001
  College or above 1.21 (0.86, 1.52)b Ref.
  High school 1.02 (0.77, 1.43)a -0.17 (-0.24, -0.04) 0.033
  Middle school or less 1.01 (0.79, 1.34)a -0.22 (-0.33, 0.03) 0.051
 Body mass index /(kg/m2) <0.001
  <18.5 1.50 (1.33, 1.62)c 0.46 (0.27, 0.59) 0.012
  18.5-<25 1.18 (0.85, 1.52)b Ref.
  ≥25 1.01 (0.79, 1.36)a -0.10 (-0.20, 0.02) 0.144
 Parity 0.017
  Nulliparous 1.14 (0.83, 1.48)b Ref.
  Multiparous 1.07 (0.86, 1.59)a -0.01 (-0.18, 0.10) 0.924
 Gestational age /weeks 0.001
  <37 1.35 (1.25, 1.84)b 0.29 (0.11, 0.55) 0.088
  37-<42 1.12 (0.81, 1.48)a Ref.
  ≥42 1.22 (1.13, 1.65)ab 0.08 (-0.17, 0.48) 0.694
 Delivery modes 0.046
  Vaginal delivery 1.13 (0.86, 1.47)b Ref.
  Cesarean section 1.12 (0.77, 1.55)a 0.03 (-0.03, 0.17) 0.693
 Breastfeeding practice <0.001
  Exclusively breastfeeding 1.08 (0.77, 1.38)a Ref.
  Partially breastfeeding 1.22 (0.93, 1.70)b 0.13 (0.05, 0.25) 0.034
 Fish /(g/d) <0.001
  ≤30 1.03 (0.71, 1.37)a Ref.
  >30 1.27 (0.92, 1.60)b 0.18 (0.08, 0.28) 0.009
Infants
 Gender 0.541
  Male 1.12 (0.81, 1.47) Ref.
  Female 1.14 (0.85, 1.52) 0.01 (-0.08, 0.08) 0.824
 Birth weight/g 0.016
  <2 500 1.04 (0.99, 2.38)ab -0.24 (-0.48, 1.16) 0.736
  2 500-<4 000 1.12 (0.83, 1.48)a Ref.
  ≥4 000 1.24 (0.83, 1.63)b 0.14 (-0.10, 0.28) 0.248

Table 3

Multivariate Logistic regression results of vitamin A deficiency in breast milk among lactating women"

Characteristics β Standard error Wald χ2 Adjusted OR (95%CI) P value
Mothers
 Regions 4.72 0.094
  Weihai Ref.
  Yueyang 0.18 0.26 0.49 1.20 (0.72, 1.99) 0.484
  Baotou 0.56 0.26 4.56 1.75 (1.05, 2.92) 0.033
 Education levels 5.04 0.080
  College or above Ref.
  High school 0.19 0.25 0.54 1.21 (0.73, 1.98) 0.462
  Middle school or less 0.77 0.35 4.95 2.16 (1.10, 4.24) 0.026
 Fish /(g/d)
  ≤30 Ref.
  >30 -0.60 0.22 7.74 0.55 (0.36, 0.84) 0.005
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