TY - JOUR
T1 - Adherence to Mediterranean Diet of Breastfeeding Mothers and Fatty Acids Composition of Their Human Milk
T2 - Results From the Italian MEDIDIET Study
AU - Di Maso, Matteo
AU - Bravi, Francesca
AU - Ferraroni, Monica
AU - Agostoni, Carlo
AU - Eussen, Simone R B M
AU - Decsi, Tamás
AU - Quitadamo, Pasqua A
AU - Tonetto, Paola
AU - Peila, Chiara
AU - Profeti, Claudio
AU - Salvatori, Guglielmo
AU - Kazmierska, Iwona
AU - Decarli, Adriano
AU - Vacca, Elisabetta
AU - Bertino, Enrico
AU - Stahl, Bernd
AU - Moro, Guido E
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was sponsored by the Danone Nutricia Research, Utrecht, Netherlands. FB was supported by a grant from the Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health of the University of Milan (PSR2015-1719FBRAV) at the time when data were analyzed. MD was supported by an academic fellowship focusing on maternal nutrition.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 Di Maso, Bravi, Ferraroni, Agostoni, Eussen, Decsi, Quitadamo, Tonetto, Peila, Profeti, Salvatori, Kazmierska, Decarli, Vacca, Bertino, Stahl and Moro.
PY - 2022/6/2
Y1 - 2022/6/2
N2 - Background and Aims: The content of fatty acids (FA) in human milk may be influenced by maternal nutrition. We evaluated the role of a Mediterranean diet in influencing the content of FA in human milk among 282 breastfeeding mothers participating in the MEDIDIET study. Materials and Methods: Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), a composite index, was used to evaluate adherence to the Mediterranean diet. It includes 9 components (i.e., vegetables, fruit, cereals, legumes, monounsaturated to saturated FA ratio – MUFA/SFA, fish, dairy products, meat, and alcohol) and therefore potentially ranges from 0 (no adherence) to 9 (complete adherence) points. None of the mothers obtained the highest score due to the low alcohol consumption in the study population. Mothers were categorized in approximate tertiles of adherence: 0–3 (34.4%), 4 (26.2%), and 5–8 points (39.4%). The mean content of FA across categories of MDS was compared using ANOVA and test for trend. Results: A high adherence of breastfeeding mothers to the Mediterranean diet was associated with lower content of SFA in human milk (42.58 ± 4.36 for MDS = 0–3, 42.58 ± 4.89 for MDS = 4, and 40.92 ± 5.22% of fats for MDS = 5–8 points; p ANOVA and p for trend = 0.02). Conversely, a high adherence was associated with higher content of MUFA in human milk (43.27 ± 4.27 for MDS = 0–3, 43.27 ± 4.47 for MDS = 4, and 45.24 ± 5.22% of fats for MDS = 5–8 points; p ANOVA and p for trend < 0.01), ω-3 FA (1.07 ± 0.25 for MDS = 0–3, 1.22 ± 0.49 for MDS = 4, and 1.31 ± 0.51% of fats for MDS = 5–8 points; p ANOVA and p for trend < 0.01), and the major types of ω-3 FA (i.e., α-linolenic acid – ALA, eicosapentaenoic acid – EPA, docosahexaenoic acid – DHA, docosapentaenoic acid – DPA). These associations were mainly driven by the adherence to the vegetables, MUFA/SFA, fish, and dairy products components of the Mediterranean diet. Conclusion: A high adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with human milk showing a lower content of SFA and higher content of MUFA and ω-3 FA, including DHA. The Mediterranean diet may contribute in human milk production with higher content of specific FA which is directly involved in infant’s neural and visual development, as reported by previous studies.
AB - Background and Aims: The content of fatty acids (FA) in human milk may be influenced by maternal nutrition. We evaluated the role of a Mediterranean diet in influencing the content of FA in human milk among 282 breastfeeding mothers participating in the MEDIDIET study. Materials and Methods: Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS), a composite index, was used to evaluate adherence to the Mediterranean diet. It includes 9 components (i.e., vegetables, fruit, cereals, legumes, monounsaturated to saturated FA ratio – MUFA/SFA, fish, dairy products, meat, and alcohol) and therefore potentially ranges from 0 (no adherence) to 9 (complete adherence) points. None of the mothers obtained the highest score due to the low alcohol consumption in the study population. Mothers were categorized in approximate tertiles of adherence: 0–3 (34.4%), 4 (26.2%), and 5–8 points (39.4%). The mean content of FA across categories of MDS was compared using ANOVA and test for trend. Results: A high adherence of breastfeeding mothers to the Mediterranean diet was associated with lower content of SFA in human milk (42.58 ± 4.36 for MDS = 0–3, 42.58 ± 4.89 for MDS = 4, and 40.92 ± 5.22% of fats for MDS = 5–8 points; p ANOVA and p for trend = 0.02). Conversely, a high adherence was associated with higher content of MUFA in human milk (43.27 ± 4.27 for MDS = 0–3, 43.27 ± 4.47 for MDS = 4, and 45.24 ± 5.22% of fats for MDS = 5–8 points; p ANOVA and p for trend < 0.01), ω-3 FA (1.07 ± 0.25 for MDS = 0–3, 1.22 ± 0.49 for MDS = 4, and 1.31 ± 0.51% of fats for MDS = 5–8 points; p ANOVA and p for trend < 0.01), and the major types of ω-3 FA (i.e., α-linolenic acid – ALA, eicosapentaenoic acid – EPA, docosahexaenoic acid – DHA, docosapentaenoic acid – DPA). These associations were mainly driven by the adherence to the vegetables, MUFA/SFA, fish, and dairy products components of the Mediterranean diet. Conclusion: A high adherence to the Mediterranean diet was associated with human milk showing a lower content of SFA and higher content of MUFA and ω-3 FA, including DHA. The Mediterranean diet may contribute in human milk production with higher content of specific FA which is directly involved in infant’s neural and visual development, as reported by previous studies.
KW - Mediterranean diet
KW - breastfeeding
KW - fatty acids profile
KW - lipids
KW - maternal nutrition
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85133721403&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fnut.2022.891376
DO - 10.3389/fnut.2022.891376
M3 - Article
C2 - 35719165
SN - 2296-861X
VL - 9
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - Frontiers in Nutrition
JF - Frontiers in Nutrition
M1 - 891376
ER -