Nutrients 2017, 9(3), 270; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9030270
Correlations between Maternal, Breast Milk, and Infant Vitamin B12 Concentrations among Mother–Infant Dyads in Vancouver, Canada and Prey Veng, Cambodia: An Exploratory Analysis
Philip Chebaya 1,2, Crystal D. Karakochuk 1,2
, Kaitlin M. March 1,2, Nancy N. Chen 1,2, Rosemary A. Stamm 3, Hou Kroeun 4, Prak Sophonneary 5, Mam Borath 6, Setareh Shahab-Ferdows 7, Daniela Hampel 7,8, Susan I. Barr 1, Yvonne Lamers 1,2, Lisa A. Houghton 3, Lindsay H. Allen 7,8, Tim J. Green 1,2,9,* and Kyly C. Whitfield 1,2,10
, Kaitlin M. March 1,2, Nancy N. Chen 1,2, Rosemary A. Stamm 3, Hou Kroeun 4, Prak Sophonneary 5, Mam Borath 6, Setareh Shahab-Ferdows 7, Daniela Hampel 7,8, Susan I. Barr 1, Yvonne Lamers 1,2, Lisa A. Houghton 3, Lindsay H. Allen 7,8, Tim J. Green 1,2,9,* and Kyly C. Whitfield 1,2,10
1
Food, Nutrition, and Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
2
BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1, Canada
3
Department of Human Nutrition, University of Otago, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
4
Helen Keller International—Cambodia Country Office, Phnom Penh 12301, Cambodia
5
National Nutrition Programme, Maternal and Child Health Centre, Ministry of Health, Phnom Penh 12202, Cambodia
6
National Sub-Committee for Food Fortification, Ministry of Planning, Phnom Penh 12000, Cambodia
7
US Department of Agriculture, ARS Western Human Nutrition Research Centre, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
8
Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
9
South Australia Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
10
Department of Applied Human Nutrition, Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS B3M 2J6, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 29 December 2016 / Revised: 1 March 2017 / Accepted: 9 March 2017 / Published: 12 March 2017
(This article belongs to the Special Issue B-Vitamins and One-Carbon Metabolism)
Abstract
Vitamin B12 plays an essential role in fetal and infant development. In regions where animal source food consumption is low and perinatal supplementation is uncommon, infants are at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency. In this secondary analysis, we measured total vitamin B12 concentrations in maternal and infant serum/plasma and breast milk among two samples of mother–infant dyads in Canada (assessed at 8 weeks post-partum) and in Cambodia (assessed between 3–27 weeks post-partum). Canadian mothers (n = 124) consumed a daily vitamin B12-containing multiple micronutrient supplement throughout pregnancy and lactation; Cambodian mothers (n = 69) were unsupplemented. The maternal, milk, and infant total vitamin B12 concentrations (as geometric means (95% CI) in pmol/L) were as follows: in Canada, 698 (648,747), 452 (400, 504), and 506 (459, 552); in Cambodia, 620 (552, 687), 317 (256, 378), and 357 (312, 402). The majority of participants were vitamin B12 sufficient (serum/plasma total B12 > 221 pmol/L): 99% and 97% of mothers and 94% and 84% of infants in Canada and Cambodia, respectively. Among the Canadians, maternal, milk, and infant vitamin B12 were all correlated (p < 0.05); only maternal and infant vitamin B12 were correlated among the Cambodians (p < 0.001). View Full-TextKeywords:
vitamin B12 (cobalamin); lactation; human milk; Canada; Cambodia
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Chebaya, P.; Karakochuk, C.D.; March, K.M.; Chen, N.N.; Stamm, R.A.; Kroeun, H.; Sophonneary, P.; Borath, M.; Shahab-Ferdows, S.; Hampel, D.; Barr, S.I.; Lamers, Y.; Houghton, L.A.; Allen, L.H.; Green, T.J.; Whitfield, K.C. Correlations between Maternal, Breast Milk, and Infant Vitamin B12 Concentrations among Mother–Infant Dyads in Vancouver, Canada and Prey Veng, Cambodia: An Exploratory Analysis. Nutrients 2017, 9, 270.
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