Kd. Patel et Ca. Lovelady, VITAMIN-B-12 STATUS OF EAST-INDIAN VEGETARIAN LACTATING WOMEN LIVING IN THE UNITED-STATES, Nutrition research, 18(11), 1998, pp. 1839-1846
The purpose of this study was to determine the vitamin B-12 status of
vegetarian, lactating women who had immigrated to the US from India. W
omen exclusively breastfeeding their 4-20 week old infants were studie
d [8 lactovegetarians (VEG group), 11 omnivorous women (CONTROL group)
]. Fasting maternal blood and breast milk samples were collected and a
nalyzed for B-12 concentrations; a random urine sample was collected f
rom infants to determine methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentration. All s
ubjects, except three VEG, reported taking vitamin supplements contain
ing 2 to 25 mu g of vitamin B-12 regularly during pregnancy and lactat
ion. Vitamin B-12 intake from dietary sources and total intake (dietar
y plus supplement) was significantly lower in the VEG group compared t
o CONTROL subjects (1.35 +/- 0.27 vs 2.61 +/- 0.23, p<0.01 and 4.60 +/
- 1.43 vs 11.70 +/- 2.47 mu g/d, p 0.04; respectively). Serum and milk
vitamin B-12 concentrations in VEG women were significantly lower tha
n the CONTROL group (264 +/- 52 vs 531 +/- 78 pmol/L, p = 0.02 and 277
+/- 39 vs 544 +/- 104 pmol/L, p = 0.05; respectively). After controll
ing for diet, the mean milk vitamin B-12 concentration of mothers at 1
6-20 wks postpartum was significantly lower than mothers 4-8 wks postp
artum (p = 0.04). Assuming that infants consumed 750 ml of milk/d, 75%
of infants of VEG mothers and 27% of infants of CONTROL mothers were
not consuming the RDA for vitamin B-12. All MMA concentrations were wi
thin normal limits except for one infant whose mother consumed a VEG d
iet. These results suggest the importance of supplementation with vita
min B-12 during lactation among lactovegetarian women. (C) 1998 Elsevi
er Science Inc.