Toxic heavy metals in the breast milk of diabetic and non-diabetic postpartum mothers in Yenagoa, Nigeria

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Background Breast milk is considered to be the best substance for neonatal nutrition. It is not well known whether diabetes increases the expression of toxic heavy metals in the breast milk of postpartum mothers. This study compared the concentration of toxic heavy metals in breast milk between diabetic and non-diabetic postpartum mothers in Yenagoa. Material and methods A cross-sectional design was utilized on a purposive sample of 144 consenting postpartum mothers (72 diabetic and 72 non-diabetic mothers) from one tertiary, one secondary, and one primary medical centre. Breast milk samples were collected at 5-6 weeks postpartum between 1st November 2020 and 30th April 2021. A spectrophotometer was used to analyze the breast milk samples. A pro forma was used for data extraction and data were analyzed at a 5% significance level. Result The Diabetes group had levels of Arsenic (63.9%), Lead (95.8%), Mercury (68.1%), and Cadmium (84.7%) above the WHO permissible limits. The mean concentrations were 0.6 ng/ml (Arsenic), 13.2ng/ml (Lead), 2.9ng/ml (Mercury), and 3.3ng/ml (Cadmium). The non-diabetic mothers also had high levels of Arsenic (62.5%), Lead (95.8%), Mercury (72.2%), and Cadmium (86.1%); and the mean concentrations were 0.6ng/ml (Arsenic), 12.2 ng/ml (Lead), 3.0ng/ml (Mercury), and 3.2ng/ml (Cadmium). There was no significant difference in the concentration of toxic heavy metals in breast milk between the diabetic and non-diabetic postpartum mothers (p = > 0.585). Conclusions Diabetes did not seem to increase the concentration of toxic heavy metals expressed in breast milk. More rigorous studies are needed to confirm these findings.

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