title: Vitamin D status does not influence the breast-milk calcium concentration of lactating mothers accustomed to a low calcium intake.
abstract: Plasma 25-hydroxy-vitamin D and breast-milk calcium concentration were measured at 3 months of lactation in 60 Gambian mothers accustomed to a low calcium diet, of whom 30 were consuming a calcium supplement and 30 were receiving a placebo, and in 48 British mothers. The plasma 25-hydroxy-vitamin D concentration of the Gambian women was not affected by either calcium supplementation (supplemented, 64.4 +/- 2.5 nmol l(-1); placebo, 64.9 +/- 3.5 nmol l(-1); mean +/- SE) or season. The British average was lower (53.9 +/- 3.0 nmol l(-1), p = 0.004), owing to marked seasonal effects. The breast-milk calcium concentration was lower in The Gambia (supplemented, 5.38 +/- 0.13 mmol l(-1); placebo, 5.10 +/- 0.13 mmol l(-1); British, 6.93 +/- 0.15 mmol l(-1), p < 0.0001). There was no relationship between plasma 25-hydroxy-vitamin D and breast-milk calcium concentration in any group. There was no trend towards lower breast-milk calcium concentration in women with vitamin D status towards the bottom of the normal range or in British women during the winter. This study provides no support for the hypothesis that breast-milk calcium concentration is influenced by vitamin D status or that lactating women with a low calcium intake are at particular risk of vitamin D deficiency.
authors.affiliation: MRC Dunn Nutrition Unit, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prentice
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Jarjou
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dibba
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Laskey
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Stirling
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fairweather-Tait
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002118:Calcium / Q000097:blood*; D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003906:Developing Countries; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D005714:Gambia; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007774:Lactation / Q000097:blood*; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D009751:Nutritional Requirements; D012424:Rural Population; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D002136:Calcium, Dietary; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D; D002118:Calcium