Breast milk retinol concentrations are not associated with systemic inflammation among breast-feeding women in Malawi

The acute phase response and inflammation are associated with lower plasma retinol concentrations, but their effect on breast milk retinol concentrations is unclear. We measured plasma retinol concentrations, acute phase proteins, and breast milk retinol concentrations in 237 breast-feeding women at 2 wk postpartum in Blantyre, Malawi; 16.5% of the women had plasma retinol < 0.70 mumol/L and 14.8% had breast milk retinol < 1.05 mumol/L. Among women with and without inflammation [alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP) > 1 g/L and/or C-reactive protein (CRP) > 5 mg/L], geometric mean (95% CI) plasma retinol was 0.89 (0.84, 0.94) and 1.05 (1.01, 1.17) mumol/L, respectively (P < 0.0001). Among women with and without inflammation, geometric mean (95% CI) breast milk retinol was 2.12 (1.89, 2.36) and 2.05 (1.75, 2.39) mumol/L, respectively (P = 0.74). In multiple linear regression models adjusting for age, parity, education, BMI, and days postpartum, plasma retinol concentrations were associated with plasma AGP and CRIP concentrations (P < 0.0001 and P = 0.01, respectively), whereas breast milk retinol concentrations were unaffected by plasma AGP and CRIP concentrations (P = 0.22 and P = 0.86, respectively). These findings suggest that breast milk retinol concentrations are not affected by systemic inflammation.