Intra- and Inter-Day Element Variability in Human Breast Milk: Pilot Study.

Area of Science:

• Human Nutrition
• Analytical Chemistry
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Breast milk is vital for infant nutrition but can contain harmful elements.
• Characterizing breast milk composition is critical for infant health.
• Limited data exists on the day-to-day variation of elements in breast milk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the intra- and inter-day variation of elements in human breast milk.
• To establish a robust analytical method for element quantification in breast milk.
• To provide pilot data for a larger-scale study on breast milk composition.

Main Methods:

• Developed and validated a quadrupole inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry method for 26 elements.
• Collected breast milk from 11 women across 12 sampling points over three days.
• Analyzed intra- and inter-day variation using intraclass correlation coefficients.

Main Results:

• The analytical method demonstrated high accuracy (98%-107%) for 26 elements.
• Significant intra- and inter-day variability was observed for elements like Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), and Nickel (Ni).
• Consistent levels were found for elements such as Strontium (Sr), Calcium (Ca), and Copper (Cu).
• Strong correlations were identified between elements like Iron (Fe) and Molybdenum (Mo), Ca and Sr, and Cd and Fe.

Conclusions:

• Breast milk element concentrations exhibit significant day-to-day variability, necessitating careful consideration in infant nutrition.
• The developed analytical method is suitable for accurate multi-element analysis in breast milk.
• Further research is warranted to understand the implications of element variability on infant health.