Ezeama Nkiru N, Okunna Nene, Afonne Onyenmechi J
Department of Community Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
Department of Health, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA.
Nutr Health. 2025 Jun;31(2):527-536. doi: 10.1177/02601060231195083. Epub 2023 Aug 16.
Selenium is an essential micronutrient for human growth and development. Breast milk is usually the primary source of this nutrient for infants which is fundamental for their healthy brain development; its deficiency can lead to severe neurocognitive outcomes. The concentration of selenium in breast milk is dependent on the maternal diet. This study assessed associations between maternal diet and levels of selenium concentrations in breastmilk and serum of 124 lactating mothers. Breast milk and serum samples were collected from lactating mothers whose breast-fed infant was at least one month old. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to collect information on dietary intake. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data while paired -test was used to determine any statistically significant differences between sample means. Spearman's rank correlation analysis was used to determine associations between breast milk and serum selenium concentrations and study variables. Average time postpartum was 2.9 months while mean concentrations of selenium in breast milk and serum were 6.57 ± 2.69 and 68.48 ± 26.86 µg/L, respectively. Levels of selenium in breast milk and serum were deficient for more than half of the lactating mothers. No statistically significant associations were found between breast milk selenium concentration and time postpartum as well as maternal diet except for eggs ( = 0.23, = 0.01). The evidence of deficient concentrations of breast milk selenium indicates a poor correlation with maternal diet and suggests the need for postpartum screening of breastfeeding mothers.
硒是人类生长发育所必需的微量营养素。母乳通常是婴儿获取这种营养素的主要来源，对其健康的大脑发育至关重要；硒缺乏会导致严重的神经认知后果。母乳中硒的浓度取决于母亲的饮食。本研究评估了124名哺乳期母亲的饮食与母乳和血清中硒浓度水平之间的关联。从母乳喂养的婴儿至少1个月大的哺乳期母亲中采集母乳和血清样本。使用经过验证的食物频率问卷收集饮食摄入信息。描述性统计用于汇总数据，配对t检验用于确定样本均值之间的任何统计学显著差异。Spearman等级相关分析用于确定母乳和血清硒浓度与研究变量之间的关联。产后平均时间为2.9个月，母乳和血清中硒的平均浓度分别为6.57±2.69和68.48±26.86μg/L。超过一半的哺乳期母亲母乳和血清中的硒水平不足。除了鸡蛋（r = 0.23，P = 0.01）外，未发现母乳硒浓度与产后时间以及母亲饮食之间存在统计学显著关联。母乳硒浓度不足的证据表明其与母亲饮食的相关性较差，并表明需要对母乳喂养的母亲进行产后筛查。
