Breast milk lead and cadmium levels from suburban areas of Ankara Original Research Article

The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate levels of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in the breast milk at 2 months postpartum, (2) to investigate the relationship between Pb and Cd levels in breast milk and some sociodemographic parameters and (3) to detect whether these levels have any influence on the infantʹs physical status or on postpartum depression in the mothers. Pb and Cd levels in breast milk were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The median breast milk concentrations of Pb and Cd were 20.59 and 0.67 μg/l, respectively. In 125 (87%) of 144 samples, Pb levels were higher than the limit in breast milk reported by the World Health Organization (WHO) (> 5 μg/l). Breast milk Cd levels were > 1 μg/l in 52 (36%) mothers. The mothers with a history of anemia at any time had higher breast milk Pb levels than those without a history of anemia (21.1 versus 17.9 μg/l; p = 0.0052). The median breast milk Cd levels in active and passive smokers during pregnancy were significantly higher than in non-smokers (0.89, 0.00 μg/l, respectively; p = 0.023). The breast milk Cd levels of the mothers who did not use iron and vitamin supplements for 2 months postpartum were found to be higher than in those who did use the supplements (iron: 0.73, 0.00 μg/l, p = 0.023; vitamin: 0.78, 0.00 μg/l, p = 0.004, respectively). Breast milk Cd levels at the 2nd month were correlated negatively with the z scores of head circumference and the weight for age at birth (r = − 0.257, p = 0.041 and r = − 0.251, p = 0.026, respectively) in girls. We found no correlation between the breast milk Pb and Cd levels and the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale scores. Breast milk monitoring programs should be conducted that have tested considerable numbers of women over time in view of the high levels of Pb in breast milk in this study.