Adiponectin in breast milk: Relation to serum adiponectin concentration in lactating mothers and their infants.

Aims:  to determine human breast milk adiponectin concentration and to investigate its relationship with serum adiponectin concentration in lactating mothers and their infants; to evaluate the relationship between serum adiponectin concentration and anthropometric parameters in nurses and infants. Methods:  We enrolled 60 healthy term breastfed infants and their lactating mothers. Adiponectin was determined by radioimmunoassay test in serum and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test in human milk. Infants and mothers anthropometric parameters were measured. Results:  Median (25%ile, 75%ile) adiponectin concentration in human milk was 9.99 (3.59, 20.52) ng/mL. Serum adiponectin concentration in infants was 60.49 (45.76, 74.24) μg/mL and in lactating mothers 21.14 (12.61, 29.66) μg/mL. Adiponectin concentration in human milk correlated positively with adiponectin in mothers' serum; r=0.60 (p<0.001) and in infants' serum r=0.37 (p=0.015). Adiponectin in human milk correlated negatively with infants' age r= -0.3 (p=0.04). Infants' serum adiponectin correlated negatively with their weight r= -0.35 (p=0.005), length r= -0.35 (p=0.006) and age r= -0.46 (p<0.001) and mothers' serum adiponectin with their weight r=-0.37 (p=0.02) and body mass index r= - 0.45 (p=0.004). Conclusions:  The observed correlations between adiponectin in mothers, human milk and breastfed infants may be suggestive for a metabolic link between nurses and infants through milk. © 2012 The Author(s)/Acta Paediatrica © 2012 Foundation Acta Paediatrica.