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Carbohydrate content of human milk is affected by seasonal variations: a retrospective observational study

Journal of Perinatology volume 42, pages 1058–1062 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objective

The influence of seasonal variation upon human milk macronutrient content has not been elucidated. This study aimed to compare the macronutrient content of HM produced by lactating mothers during the winter and the summer seasons.

Study design

Macronutrient content of colostrum milk samples collected from lactating mothers of healthy term infants between March 2012 and February 2016 was measured by mid-infrared spectroscopy and compared.

Result

The carbohydrate content of the colostrum was significantly higher in the summer season than in the winter season (6.2 ± 1.3 vs. 5.5 ± 1.4, p-value < 0.001). Protein, fat, and energy contents were similar in summer and winter in both groups (protein 2.7 ± 2.1 vs. 2.6 ± 2.2 g/100 ml, fat 2.6 ± 1.9 vs. 2.35 ± 1.9 g/100 ml, and energy 62 ± 19.1 vs. 60.5 ± 21 kcal/100 ml, respectively).

Conclusion

The carbohydrate content in colostrum obtained from mothers of term infants was affected by seasonal variations.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Neonatology, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Laurence Mangel, Dror Mandel & Ronella Marom

  2. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Laurence Mangel, Sharon Vanetik, Dror Mandel, Ronella Marom, Ronit Lubetzky & Hadar Moran- Lev

  3. Departments of Pediatrics, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Sharon Vanetik, Ronit Lubetzky & Hadar Moran- Lev

  4. Departments of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ronit Lubetzky & Hadar Moran- Lev

Authors
  1. Laurence Mangel
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  4. Ronella Marom
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Contributions

HML, LM, and DM conceptualized and designed the study, drafted the initial paper, and reviewed and revised the paper. RL, LM, SV, and RM designed the data-collection instruments, collected data, carried out the initial analyses, and reviewed and revised the paper. RL and DM conceptualized and designed the study, coordinated and supervised data collection, and critically reviewed the paper for important intellectual content. All authors approved the final paper as submitted and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hadar Moran- Lev.

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Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study protocol was approved by the “Helsinki” institutional review board of the medical center. Informed consent was waived because of the retrospective nature of the study and the analysis used anonymous data. The data were handled in accordance with the principles of the Good Clinical Practice (GCP).

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Mangel, L., Vanetik, S., Mandel, D. et al. Carbohydrate content of human milk is affected by seasonal variations: a retrospective observational study. J Perinatol 42, 1058–1062 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01396-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-022-01396-4

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