Chemical Biomarkers of Human Breast Milk Pollution

Abstract

Human milk is, without question, the best source of nutrition for infants containing the optimal balance of fats, carbohydrates and proteins for developing babies. Breastfeeding provides a range of benefi ts for growth, immunity and development building a powerful bond between mother and her child. Recognition of the manifold benefi ts of breast milk has led to the adoption of breast-feeding policies by numerous health and professional organizations such as the World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics. In industrially developed as well as in developing nations, human milk contamination by toxic chemicals such as heavy metals, dioxins and organohalogen compounds, however, is widespread and is the consequence of decades of inadequately controlled pollution. Through breastfeeding, the mother may transfer to the suckling infant potentially toxic chemicals to which the mother has previously been exposed. In the present review, environmental exposure, acquisition and current levels of old and emerging classes of breast milk pollutants are systematically presented. Although scientifi c evidences indicated that the advantages of breast-feeding outweigh any risks from contaminants, it is important to identify contaminant trends, to locate disproportionately exposed populations, and to take public health measures to improve chemical BM pollution as possible.

Breast milk contamination with lead and cadmium and its related factors in Kerman, Iran

“…Some studies found that Cd levels in human milk were significantly related to mothers’ smoking status [10] and have even found that there was a direct relation between the amount of cadmium in a woman’s breast milk and the number of cigarettes she smoked a day [10, 31, 32]. A study from Austria showed that smokers had 2-times higher concentration of cadmium than non-smokers [3].…”

Exposure of Infants to Aflatoxin M1 from Mother's Breast Milk in Ilam, Western Iran

“…Data regarding the frequency and mean concentration of AFM1 in breast milk samples vary in different countries, indicating that the contamination rate is lower in the developed countries compared to that in developing/undeveloped countries. Studies from Germany, France, and England reported no contamination in breast milk samples 19 , 20 . However, the results of a study in Australia showed that 26% of the milk samples of 73 lactating women were contaminated with AFM1, which can be attributed to the warm and humid climate of this country [21] .…”

Can contamination of the environment by dioxins cause craniofacial defects?

“…63,64 Data show the significant concentrations of dioxins in milk of Eskimos, Japanese, and Italian women who breastfed are several times higher than the permissible for an adult. 65 The dioxin content in the bodies of polar bears and their milk is comparable to the concentrations of these compounds in seals, which are their food source as well as the Eskimo milk. 66,67 All these prove the bioaccumulation and the circulation of dioxin in the food chain.…”