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Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, and Barium Levels in Human Breast Milk and Factors Affecting Their Concentrations in Hamadan, Iran

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Abstract

Breast milk is considered the best source of nutrition for all infants. However, exposure of newborns to toxic metals is of special interest due to their potential harmful effects. Thus, the primary aims of this study were to determine the concentration of toxic heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, and barium in breast milk samples from Hamadan, Iran, in relation to some sociodemographic variables. A total of 100 breast milk samples were collected and their heavy metal contents were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICP-MS). The median breast milk concentrations of Pb, Hg, and Ba were 41.9, 2.8, and 1.95 μg/L, respectively. Cd levels were < 1 μg/L in all samples. The Pb level in 94% of the samples was higher than the recommended Pb limit of < 5 μg/L in breast milk suggested by World Health Organization (WHO). Hg levels in 54% of the breast milk samples were higher than the normal mean concentration (1.7 μg/L) suggested by WHO. We found no correlation between Hg levels in breast milk and sociodemographic factors. Ba levels in all the breast milk samples were lower than the WHO’s proposed health-based drinking water guideline (0.7 mg/L). Considering the results of the present study and the vulnerability of infants, along with the well-known toxicity of these metals, further studies are warranted to identify the main sources of exposure that contribute their concentration in breast milk, establish harmless intake values of toxic metals in breast milk, and develop preventive measures.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the lactating mothers who volunteered to participate in the study. We thank K. Shashok (AuthorAID in the Eastern Mediterranean) for improving the use of English in the manuscript.

Funding

This project was financially supported by the School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (Grant number: 960115301).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition Sciences, Nutrition Health Research Center, School of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Aliasghar Vahidinia

  2. Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Research Center for Health Sciences, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Fateme Samiee, Alireza Rahmani & Mostafa Leili

  3. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Modeling of Noncommunicable Diseases Research Center, School of Public Health, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Javad Faradmal

  4. Department of Midwifery, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

    Masoumeh Taravati Javad

Authors
  1. Aliasghar Vahidinia
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  2. Fateme Samiee
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  3. Javad Faradmal
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  4. Alireza Rahmani
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  5. Masoumeh Taravati Javad
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  6. Mostafa Leili
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mostafa Leili.

Ethics declarations

The protocol and ethics of this study were approved by the Ethics Committee of Hamadan University of Medical Science. Breastfeeding mothers provided their informed written consent, agreed to provide samples, and received no payment for their participation.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Highlights

• This is first to examine the heavy metal contents of breast milk in the west of Iran.

• The median concentrations of Pb, Hg, and Ba were 41.9, 2.8, and 1.95 μg/L, respectively.

• The Pb levels in 94% of the samples were higher than the WHO’s recommended limit.

• Hg levels in 54% of the samples were higher than the WHO’s suggested concentration.

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Vahidinia, A., Samiee, F., Faradmal, J. et al. Mercury, Lead, Cadmium, and Barium Levels in Human Breast Milk and Factors Affecting Their Concentrations in Hamadan, Iran. Biol Trace Elem Res 187, 32–40 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-018-1355-5

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