Human Milk Adiponectin and Leptin and Infant Body Composition over the First 12 Months of Lactation

• Published in: Nutrients 2018-08, Vol.10 (8), p.1125
• Main Authors: Gridneva, Zoya, Kugananthan, Sambavi, Rea, Alethea, Lai, Ching Tat, Ward, Leigh C, Murray, Kevin, Hartmann, Peter E, Geddes, Donna T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adipokines; Adiponectin; Adiponectin - analysis; Adipose tissue; Adiposity; Babies; Baby foods; bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy; Body Composition; Body fat; Body Mass Index; Body Weight; Breast Feeding; Breast milk; breastfeeding; Breastfeeding & lactation; Electric Impedance; Fat-free body mass; Feeding; Female; Health risks; human milk; Humans; Infant; Infants; Intakes; Lactation; Leptin; Leptin - analysis; Male; Milk; Milk, Human - chemistry; Postpartum; Regression analysis; Skinfold Thickness; Socioeconomic Factors; Spectroscopy; Statistical analysis; Ultrasound; ultrasound skinfolds
• ISSN: 2072-6643; 2072-6643
• DOI: 10.3390/nu10081125

Human milk (HM) adipokines may influence infant feeding patterns, appetite regulation, and body composition (BC). The associations between concentrations/calculated daily intakes (CDI) of HM adipokines in the first 12 months postpartum and maternal/term infant BC, and infant breastfeeding parameters were investigated. BC of breastfeeding dyads ( = 20) was measured at 2, 5, 9, and/or 12 months postpartum with ultrasound skinfolds (infants) and bioimpedance spectroscopy (infants/mothers). 24-h milk intake and feeding frequency were measured along with whole milk adiponectin and skim and whole milk leptin (SML and WML) and CDI were calculated. Statistical analysis used linear regression/mixed effects models; results were adjusted for multiple comparisons. Adipokine concentrations did not associate with infant BC. Higher CDI of adiponectin were associated with lower infant fat-free mass (FFM; = 0.005) and FFM index (FFMI; = 0.009) and higher fat mass (FM; < 0.001), FM index (FMI; < 0.001), and %FM ( < 0.001). Higher CDI of SML were associated with higher infant FM ( < 0.001), FMI ( < 0.001), and %FM ( = 0.002). At 12 months, higher CDI of WML were associated with larger increases in infant adiposity (2⁻12 month: FM, = 0.0006; %FM, = 0.0004); higher CDI of SML were associated with a larger decrease in FFMI (5⁻12 months: = 0.0004). Intakes of HM adipokines differentially influence development of infant BC in the first year of life, which is a critical window of infant programming and may potentially influence risk of later disease via modulation of BC.