Concha G, Vogler G, Nermell B, Vahter M
Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1998 Feb;71(1):42-6. doi: 10.1007/s004200050248.
To investigate the excretion of arsenic in breast milk of lactating native Andean women living in a village in northwestern Argentina with high concentrations of arsenic in the drinking water (about 200 micrograms/l) and to assess the exposure of children to arsenic during the very first period of life.
The study included ten lactating women and two nursing babies. Hydride-generation atomic absorption spectrometry (HG-AAS) was used to determine the concentration of arsenic in samples of human milk, drinking water, blood, and urine.
The concentrations of arsenic detected in maternal blood (total arsenic) and urine (metabolites of inorganic arsenic) were high, averaging 10 and 320 micrograms/l, respectively. In subjects without known exposure to arsenic the average concentrations found in blood and urine are 1-2 and about 10 micrograms/l, respectively. The metabolites of inorganic arsenic constituted more than 80% of the total arsenic in the urine, which shows that inorganic arsenic was the main form of arsenic ingested. The average concentration of arsenic detected in human milk was 2.3 micrograms/kg fresh weight (range 0.83-7.6 micrograms/kg). Although data on background levels of arsenic in human breast milk are scarce, the present concentrations seem to be slightly elevated. However, considering the high levels of arsenic exposure in the mothers, the total arsenic concentrations measured in human milk were low. In concordance with the low concentrations of arsenic found in the milk, the concentrations of arsenic metabolites measured in the urine of two of the nursing babies were low: 17 and 47 micrograms/l, respectively.
The low concentrations of arsenic detected in the breast milk and urine of the two nursing babies in relation to the high level of maternal exposure to arsenic indicate that inorganic arsenic is not excreted in breast milk to any significant extent. This is a very important reason for long breast-feeding periods.
调查生活在阿根廷西北部一个村庄的安第斯本土哺乳期妇女乳汁中砷的排泄情况，该村庄饮用水中砷浓度较高（约200微克/升），并评估婴儿在生命最初阶段对砷的暴露情况。
该研究纳入了10名哺乳期妇女和2名哺乳婴儿。采用氢化物发生原子吸收光谱法（HG-AAS）测定母乳、饮用水、血液和尿液样本中的砷浓度。
母体血液（总砷）和尿液（无机砷代谢物）中检测到的砷浓度较高，平均分别为10微克/升和320微克/升。在无已知砷暴露史的受试者中，血液和尿液中的平均浓度分别为1-2微克/升和约10微克/升。无机砷代谢物占尿液中总砷的80%以上，这表明无机砷是摄入砷的主要形式。母乳中检测到的砷平均浓度为2.3微克/千克鲜重（范围为0.83-7.6微克/千克）。尽管关于人乳中砷背景水平的数据很少，但目前的浓度似乎略有升高。然而，考虑到母亲的高砷暴露水平，母乳中测得的总砷浓度较低。与乳汁中低砷浓度一致，两名哺乳婴儿尿液中测得的砷代谢物浓度较低，分别为17微克/升和47微克/升。
与母亲高砷暴露水平相比，两名哺乳婴儿母乳和尿液中检测到的低砷浓度表明无机砷在母乳中的排泄量不大。这是延长母乳喂养时间的一个非常重要的原因。
