Moderate zinc and vitamin A deficiency in breast milk of mothers from East-Jakarta.
OBJECTIVE
To gain information about the micronutrient status of urban, middle-income, breast-feeding mothers in relation to zinc and selected fat-soluble vitamins in plasma and breast milk and to assess possible interaction between the measured micronutrients.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
91 mothers and their infants living in middle-income areas of Jakarta, Indonesia.


RESULTS
None of the measured anthropometric data of the mothers (e.g. BMI: 22.0+/-3.1 kg/m2) and their infants (birth weight: 3.2+/-0.5 kg) gave any indication of undernutrition. The mean concentrations in blood were 124+/-18 g/l for hemoglobin, 385+/-111 microg/l for retinol, 34+/-23 microg/l for alpha-carotene, 104+/-72 microg/l for beta-carotene, 7.7+/-3.3 mg/l for alpha-tocopherol, 0.57+/-0.23 mg/l for gamma-tocopherol, 855+/-242 microg/l for zinc, and the median concentration of lycopene was 29 microg/l. The median breast milk concentrations were 420 microg/l for retinol, 7.8 microg/l for beta-carotene, and 2.7 mg/l for zinc. With increased duration of lactation, vitamin A and zinc concentrations significantly decreased in breast milk whereas plasma zinc concentration increased. Plasma alpha- and beta-carotene were positively correlated (P < 0.0001) with each other and with plasma lycopene. Breast milk beta-carotene was positively correlated with breast milk retinol and with plasma beta-carotene (P < 0.0001). There was no correlation between zinc and vitamin A in either breast milk or plasma. Forty per cent of the mothers were anemic, 29.1% had a low plasma zinc concentration, and 23.7% had a moderately low plasma vitamin A concentration. Breast milk from 70% of the women had a low concentration of vitamin A and that from 66% had a low concentration of zinc.


CONCLUSIONS
Multi-micronutrient intervention should be considered to provide a sufficient supply of zinc and vitamin A for growth of exclusively breast-fed infants.
Gross
R
R
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH, Eschborn, Germany.
Hänsel
H
H
Schultink
W
W
Shrimpton
R
R
Matulessi
P
P
Gross
G
G
Tagliaferri
E
E
Sastroamdijojo
S
S
D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000097:blood; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia; D000077276:Lycopene; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D012016:Reference Values; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D014802:Vitamin A Deficiency; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency*; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000097:blood
D019207:beta Carotene; D014801:Vitamin A; D014810:Vitamin E; D002338:Carotenoids; C041635:alpha-carotene; D015032:Zinc; D000077276:Lycopene