title: Low vitamin B6 status associated with slow growth in healthy breast-fed infants.
abstract: To evaluate the effect of vitamin B6 status on infant growth, we studied longitudinally anthropometry and the erythrocyte parameters that reflect long-term vitamin B6 status [erythrocyte pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration (EPLP), erythrocyte aspartate transaminase basal activity (EAST0), and its activation co-efficient (alpha EAST)] in 44 infants. The infants were exclusively breast-fed for 6 mo, given additional solids according a uniform schedule from 6-9 mo, and formula after 9 mo, if needed. In seven of these infants, a low vitamin B6 status (EPLP < 10th, and EAST0 > 10th or alpha EAST > 90th percentile for these values in reference infants) was observed between 4 and 6 mo of age. These seven infants showed slower length velocity (0.30 +/- 0.05 versus 0.40 +/- 0.02 mm/d, p < or = 0.02) and deeper fall in length-for-age (-0.69 +/- 0.20 versus -0.25 +/- 0.07 SD score, p < or = 0.03) from 6 to 9 mo of age than the similarly fed infants with higher vitamin B6 status. Preceding vitamin B6 status remained a significant explanatory factor for length velocity and change in length-for-age in addition to preceding and concomitant weight velocity, when sex, birth size, preceding length gain, and mid-parent height were taken into account. Change in weight-for-age alone explained 16% and 18% and, together with vitamin B6 status, 23 and 27% of the variation in length velocity and in change in length-for-age, respectively. Thus, in healthy breast-fed infants, according to our results, low vitamin B6 status is associated with reversibly reduced gain in length.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heiskanen
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Siimes
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Salmenperä
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perheentupa
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D001724:Birth Weight; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D001827:Body Height; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate / Q000097:blood; D011736:Pyridoxine / Q000097:blood*; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; D011732:Pyridoxal Phosphate; D011736:Pyridoxine