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Breastmilk from obese mothers has pro-inflammatory properties and decreased neuroprotective factors

Journal of Perinatology volume 36, pages 284–290 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective:

To determine the impact of maternal obesity on breastmilk composition.

Study Design:

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.

Result:

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.

Conclusion:

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.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by Tufts Medical Center Department of Pediatrics, Susan Saltonstall Foundation Grant Program, Pilot Project Award 2012, NICHD K23HD074648 (SS), NIDDK R44DK103377 (NS, MDW and JRH).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    P G Panagos

  2. Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA

    R Vishwanathan, N R Matthan & S Sen

  3. Department of Pediatric Newborn Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    A Penfield-Cyr & S Sen

  4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Cancer Prevention and Control Program, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA

    N Shivappa, M D Wirth & J R Hebert

  5. Connecting Health Innovations, LLC, Columbia, SC, USA

    N Shivappa, M D Wirth & J R Hebert

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  1. P G Panagos
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S Sen.

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Competing interests

JRH owns controlling interest in Connecting Health Innovations LLC (CHI), a company planning to license the right to his invention of the dietary inflammatory index (DII) from the University of South Carolina to develop computer and smart phone applications for patient counseling and dietary intervention in clinical settings. MDW and NS are employees of CHI. The subject matter of this paper will not have any direct bearing on that work, nor has that activity exerted any influence on this project. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Panagos, P., Vishwanathan, R., Penfield-Cyr, A. et al. Breastmilk from obese mothers has pro-inflammatory properties and decreased neuroprotective factors. J Perinatol 36, 284–290 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2015.199

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2015.199

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