Obesity (Silver Spring)

Objective: To test associations of pre-pregnancy BMI (BMI), gestational weight gain (GWG), oral glucose challenge test (OGCT) results, and post-partum weight loss (PPWL) as predictors of breastmilk leptin, insulin and adiponectin concentrations, and whether these relationships vary over time. Methods: Milk was collected at 1- and 3 months from 135 exclusively breastfeeding women from the longitudinal Mothers and Infants Linked for Healthy Growth (MILk) study. Hormones were assayed in skimmed samples using ELISA. Mixed effects linear regression models were employed to assess main effects and effect-by-time interactions on hormone concentrations. Results: In adjusted models, BMI was positively associated with milk leptin (p<0.001) and insulin (p=0.03), and negatively associated with milk adiponectin (p=0.02); however, the association with insulin was stronger and with adiponectin was weaker at 3-months than at 1-month (time interaction p= 0.017 for insulin and p= 0.045 for adiponectin). GWG was positively and PPWL was negatively associated with milk leptin (both p<0.001) independent of BMI. OGCT was not associated with these milk hormone concentrations. Conclusion: Maternal weight status before, during, and after pregnancy contributes to inter-individual variation in human milk composition. Continuing work will assess the role of these and other milk bioactive factors in altering infant metabolic outcomes.

30900412

PMC6432940

CDC Public Access