Erratum: Vitamin B-12 content in breast milk of vegan, vegetarian, and nonvegetarian lactating women in the United States

ABSTRACT Background The nutritional profile of human milk varies significantly between women, and the impact of maternal diet on these variations is not well understood. Objective We analyzed breast-milk vitamin B-12 concentration and vitamin B-12 supplement use pattern among women who adhered to different dietary patterns: vegan, vegetarian, and nonvegetarian. Design A total of 74 milk samples, 29 from vegan, 19 from vegetarian, and 26 from nonvegetarian breastfeeding mothers, were analyzed. Results The prevalences of low vitamin B-12 (<310 pmol/L) were 19.2% for vegans, 18.2% for vegetarians, and 15.4% for nonvegetarians, which was not significant by diet group (P = 1.00). The median (quartile 1, quartile 3) vitamin B-12 values were 558 pmol/L (331, 759 pmol/L) for vegans, 509 pmol/L (368, 765 pmol/L) for vegetarians, and 444 pmol/L (355, 777 pmol/L) for nonvegetarians (P = 0.890). The use of individual vitamin B-12 supplements was higher in vegans (46.2%) than in vegetarians (27.3%) and nonvegetarians (3.9%) (P = 0.001). In linear regression analysis, the use of individual vitamin B-12 supplements was a significant positive predictor of milk vitamin B-12 concentration (β ± SE: 172.9 ± 75.2; standardized β = 0.263; P = 0.024; R2 = 0.069), the use of a multivitamin had a significant negative relation with milk vitamin B-12 concentrations (β ± SE −222.0 ± 98.7; standardized β = −0.258; P = 0.028, R2 = 0.067;), whereas the use of a B-complex vitamin and prenatal vitamin were not predictive of vitamin B-12 milk concentration (P > 0.05). Conclusions Almost 20% of our study participants were classified as having low breast-milk vitamin B-12 concentrations (<310 pmol/L), independent of maternal diet pattern. Approximately 85% of participants categorized as having low vitamin B-12 were taking vitamin B-12 supplements at doses in excess of the Recommended Dietary Allowance, which suggests that more research is needed to determine breast-milk adequacy values.

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Monitoring of vitamin B-12 nutritional status in the United States by using plasma methylmalonic acid and serum vitamin B-12

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ◽

10.3945/ajcn.111.015222 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 94 (2) ◽

pp. 552-561 ◽

Cited By ~ 68

Author(s):

Regan L Bailey ◽

Ralph Carmel ◽

Ralph Green ◽

Christine M Pfeiffer ◽

Mary E Cogswell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Nutritional Status ◽

Methylmalonic Acid ◽

Serum Vitamin ◽

The United States ◽

Vitamin B ◽

Vitamin B 12

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Vitamin B12 deficiency is the dominant nutritional cause of hyperhomocysteinemia in a folic acid-fortified population

Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM) ◽

10.1515/cclm.2005.183 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 43 (10) ◽

Cited By ~ 57

Author(s):

Ralph Green ◽

Joshua W. Miller

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Folic Acid ◽

Vitamin B12 Deficiency ◽

The United States ◽

Community Dwelling ◽

Vitamin B ◽

Prevalence Rates ◽

Total Vitamin ◽

Folic Acid Fortification ◽

B12 Deficiency

AbstractPrevalence rates for folate deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia have been markedly reduced following the introduction of folic acid fortification in the United States. We report the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia in a population of community-dwelling elderly Latinos in the post-folic acid fortification era. We measured homocysteine, total vitamin B

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Feeding the disparities: the geography and trends of breastfeeding in the United States

10.1101/451435 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Romain Garnier ◽

Ana I. Bento ◽

Pejman Rohani ◽

Saad B. Omer ◽

Shweta Bansal

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

United States ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Low Income ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

State Level ◽

The United States ◽

Poverty Level ◽

Future Health ◽

Breastfeeding Rates

AbstractThere is scientific consensus on the importance of breastfeeding for the present and future health of newborns, in high- and low-income settings alike. In the United States, improving breast milk access is a public health priority but analysis of secular trends are largely lacking. Here, we used data from the National Immunization Survey of the CDC, collected between 2003 and 2016, to illustrate the temporal trends and the spatial heterogeneity in breastfeeding. We also considered the effect sizes of two key determinants of breastfeeding rates. We show that, while access to breast milk both at birth and at 6 months old has steadily increased over the past decade, large spatial disparities still remain at the state level. We also find that, since 2009, the proportion of households below the poverty level has become the strongest predictor of breastfeeding rates. We argue that, because variations in breastfeeding rates are associated with socio-economic factors, public health policies advocating for breastfeeding are still needed in particular in underserved communities. This is key to reducing longer term health disparities in the U.S., and more generally in high-income countries.

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Human Immunodeficiency Virus and Artificial Feeding

PEDIATRICS ◽

10.1542/peds.83.5.804b ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 83 (5) ◽

pp. 804-804

Author(s):

STANLEY A. PLOTKIN

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Infection Control ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Developed Countries ◽

The United States ◽

Artificial Feeding ◽

Immunodeficiency Virus

Dr Halsey has brought to my attention that a sentence in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection control statement (AAP News, September 1988) and perinatal statement (Pediatrics 1988;82:941-944) might be misinterpreted as advocating artificial feeding for HP/-infected infants in developing countries. It was our intention to advocate the use of artificial feeding by HIV-infected mothers only in the United States and other developed countries where safe water and hygienic practices are the norm. In other countries, the advantages of breast milk outweigh the possible risk of transmission to the newborn.

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Occurrence of Melamine and Its Derivatives in Breast Milk from the United States and Its Implications for Exposure in Infants

Environmental Science & Technology ◽

10.1021/acs.est.9b02040 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 53 (13) ◽

pp. 7859-7865 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Hongkai Zhu ◽

Kurunthachalam Kannan

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Breast Milk ◽

The United States

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Receipt of Breast Milk by Gestational Age – United States, 2017 (P11-060-19)

Current Developments in Nutrition ◽

10.1093/cdn/nzz048.p11-060-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

Katelyn Chiang ◽

Andrea Sharma ◽

Jennifer Nelson ◽

Christine Olson ◽

Cria Perrine

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Breast Milk ◽

Gestational Age ◽

Infant Nutrition ◽

Birth Certificate ◽

The United States ◽

Late Preterm ◽

Term Infants ◽

Oak Ridge ◽

Extremely Preterm

Abstract Objectives Breast milk is the optimal source of infant nutrition. For the nearly 1 in 10 infants born prematurely in the United States annually, breast milk is especially beneficial, helping prevent sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) and promoting neurological development. Though the importance of breast milk for preterm infants has been established, national estimates of feeding practices by gestational age are unavailable. Our objective was to describe receipt of breast milk among preterm and term infants delivered in the United States in 2017. Methods Birth certificate data from 48 states and the District of Columbia (n = 3,194,873; 82.7% of all births) were analyzed to describe receipt of breast milk before birth certificate completion among extremely preterm (20-27 weeks), early preterm (28-33 weeks), late preterm (34-36 weeks) and term infants (≥ 37 weeks) with further stratification by maternal and infant characteristics. Results The prevalence of infants receiving breast milk was 83.9% overall and varied by gestational age: 71.3% (extremely preterm), 76.0% (early preterm), 77.3% (late preterm), and 84.6% (term). Disparities in receipt of breast milk by maternal race/ethnicity were noted across gestational ages. Infants delivered to black or American Indian/Alaska Native mothers were the least likely to have received breast milk while those delivered to white, Hispanic, and Asian mothers were more likely to have received breast milk. Differences in receipt of breast milk by other maternal sociodemographic factors also persisted similarly across gestational ages. Among late preterm and term infants, receipt of breast milk was lower for those admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) than those not admitted to the NICU. Conclusions Fewer preterm than term infants received breast milk in the first few days of life. Optimal hospital policies and practices that support breast milk feeding and ensure availability of donor milk for high-risk infants may help improve infant nutrition and reduce infant morbidity and mortality. Mothers of infants admitted to the NICU may need additional support given the challenges associated with having a medically fragile infant such as mother-infant separation and extended infant hospitalization. Funding Sources Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

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