Abstract
Breast milk vitamin A is not well characterized as an indicator of vitamin A status in women with infections. A controlled trial of vitamin A, 3 mg retinol equivalent/day, was conducted among 697 pregnant women with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Malawi which allowed comparison of plasma versus breast milk vitamin A as indicators of vitamin A status. Retinol concentrations were measured in plasma at baseline (18-28 weeks) and 38 weeks gestation and breast milk at 6 weeks post-partum. Plasam α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured at baseline. Plasma retinol (geometric mean, SD) at 38 weeks was 0.72 (0.44, 1.18) and 0.61 (0.38, 0.98) μmol/L (P < 0.0002) and breast milk retinol was 1.32 (0.71, 2.43) and 0.95 (0.49, 1.82) μmol/L (P < 0.0001) in vitamin A and placebo groups, respectively. Women with elevated acute phase protein (AGP > 1 gm/L and/or CRP > 5 mg/L) at baseline who received vitamin A had significantly higher plasma and breast milk vitamin A at follow-up compared with placebo. Elevated acute phase proteins did not distinguish women with low body stores of vitamin A. Breast milk retinol appears to be a better indicator of vitamin A status than plasma retinol in women with infections.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 271-277 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research |
Volume | 70 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 2000 |
Keywords
- Africa
- Human immunodeficiency virus infection
- Milk
- Pregnancy
- Retinol
- Vitamin A
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
- Nutrition and Dietetics