title: Breastmilk from obese mothers has pro-inflammatory properties and decreased neuroprotective factors.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the impact of maternal obesity on breastmilk composition.
  
  
  METHODS
  Breastmilk and food records from 21 lean and 21 obese women who delivered full-term infants were analyzed at 2 months post-partum. Infant growth and adiposity were measured at birth and 2 months of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Breastmilk from obese mothers had higher omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio and lower concentrations of docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, docasapentaenoic acid and lutein compared with lean mothers (P<0.05), which were strongly associated with maternal body mass index. Breastmilk saturated fatty acid and monounsaturated fatty acid concentrations were positively associated with maternal dietary inflammation, as measured by dietary inflammatory index. There were no differences in infant growth measurements.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Breastmilk from obese mothers has a pro-inflammatory fatty acid profile and decreased concentrations of fatty acids and carotenoids that have been shown to have a critical role in early visual and neurodevelopment. Studies are needed to determine the link between these early-life influences and subsequent cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes.
authors.affiliation: The Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Panagos
authors.affiliation: Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vishwanathan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Penfield-Cyr
authors.affiliation: Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: N R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Matthan
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.|Connecting Health Innovations, LLC, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shivappa
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.|Connecting Health Innovations, LLC, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention and Control Program, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.|Connecting Health Innovations, LLC, Columbia, SC, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Hebert
authors.affiliation: Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sen
mesh_terms: D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002657:Child Development; D004032:Diet; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007249:Inflammation; D014975:Lutein / Q000032:analysis; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D009035:Mothers; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D014975:Lutein