Return to search

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Content of Breast Milk from Women with and without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

Reduced insulin sensitivity and abnormal nutrient metabolism in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) may compromise polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content of breast milk. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate and compare PUFA milk composition of women with and without GDM. Breast milk collections were performed in GDM (n=6) and controls (n=12) at weeks 2, 6, 10 and 12 postpartum using a hospital grade breast pump. Estimated dietary intake of PUFA and use of prenatal supplements containing DHA (PS/DHA) was determined by 24-hour dietary recalls conducted after each milk collection.
Based on these preliminary data, milk docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6n-3) concentration in milk of women with GDM not consuming PS/DHA had a tendency to be lower compared to controls at all weeks, and the n-3 to n-6 long chain fatty acid ratio was lower at 6 and 10 weeks. There were no differences between groups for other milk PUFAs. Further, women with GDM and controls who consumed PS/DHA during lactation had higher milk DHA compared to women not consuming PS/DHA at weeks 2 and 6 for GDM and week 12 for controls. Milk eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5n-3) was higher at weeks 2, 6, and 10 in women with GDM consuming PS/DHA and weeks 10 and 12 for controls.
Dietary + supplement linoleic acid (LA; C18:2n-6), linolenic acid (ALA; C18:3n-3), DHA, EPA, and n-3/n-6 were correlated with breast milk content of these fatty acids. Dietary ALA and LA did not correlate with milk DHA and arachidonic acid (ARA; C20:4n-6). Interestingly, there was an inverse association between 1 hour postpandrial glycemia during pregnancy and average milk DHA over the four time points.
The current investigation points to lower milk DHA concentration in women with GDM who did not consume PS/DHA compared to controls not consumig PS/DHA. Based on these findings, and an earlier report of low DHA concentration in infants born to women with GDM, the importance of DHA supplementation during breast feeding for women with GDM is underscored.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-04072009-095448
Date08 April 2009
CreatorsSalguero, Julissa Marisel
ContributorsCarol J. Lammi-Keefe
PublisherLSU
Source SetsLouisiana State University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typetext
Formatapplication/pdf
Sourcehttp://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-04072009-095448/
Rightsunrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report.

Page generated in 0.0023 seconds