Concentrations of Lead and Arsenic in Mother's Milk and Children's Blood in Peruvian Breastfeeding Dyads.
Ana Maria Linares, Amanda Thaxton-Wiggins, Jason M Unrine
PMID 38084709WHAT IT FOUND
Arsenic in mothers’ milk went together with arsenic in breastfed infants’ blood, but lead did not.
Infants 6 months or younger had lower blood levels than older infants, who were eating complementary foods.
Key findings
01In the adjusted model, every 1 μg/L increase in arsenic in maternal milk was associated with a 1.40 μg/dl increase in infant blood arsenic.
02Lead in maternal milk was not associated with infant blood lead after adjustment.
03Infants 6 months old or younger had lower blood lead (1.15 μg/dl) and arsenic (0.11 μg/dl) than older infants (2.24 μg/dl and 0.16 μg/dl).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
It was an exploratory cross-sectional study with no a priori power analysis and only 40 dyads, so it cannot show that milk levels caused blood levels. Participants came from four low-income clinics in one city, so results may not apply to other settings. The study did not measure maternal blood or other body fluids, so it could not compare milk levels with maternal body burden. It did not measure water, soil, cooking ware, or cooking fuel, so sources of lead and arsenic in infant blood are unknown. Infant ages ranged from 3 to 20 months and many older infants ate complementary foods, so breast milk was not the only possible source of exposure. The study reported element concentrations, not child symptoms or development, so it cannot tell whether these levels caused developmental effects.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was carried out as part of a Fulbright Scholar program, and the article is marked as receiving NIH extramural and non-U.S. Government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that breastfeeding should be stopped or that milk lead caused infant blood lead. Milk lead was not associated with infant blood lead in the adjusted model, and older infants had higher blood levels after starting complementary foods. The study did not measure water, soil, cooking ware, or cooking fuel as sources.