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. 2017 Aug 9;147(10):1867–1874. doi: 10.3945/jn.117.252981

TABLE 2.

HMOs and bioactive proteins at 6 mo postpartum among groups of Malawian women who consumed different formulations of micronutrient supplements during pregnancy and until 6 mo postpartum1

Comparison3
IFA and MMN
 IFA and LNS
 MMN and LNS
Variable IFA MMN LNS P value2 MD P value MD P value MD P value
Total HMOs4 0.67 ± 0.01 (220) 0.69 ± 0.01 (221) 0.70 ± 0.01 (206) 0.353 −0.02 (−0.07, 0.02) 0.460 −0.03 (−0.07, 0.02) 0.396 −0.003 (−0.05, 0.04) 0.991
Sialylated HMOs5 0.079 ± 0.028 (220) 0.083 ± 0.032 (221) 0.083 ± 0.032 (206) 0.514 −0.04 (−0.01, 0.00) 0.700 −0.004 (−0.01, 0.00) 0.504 −0.001 (−0.01, 0.01) 0.943
Fucosylated HMOs 0.41 ± 0.01 (220) 0.43 ± 0.01 (221) 0.41 ± 0.01 (206) 0.317 −0.02 (−0.05, 0.01) 0.313 −0.01 (−0.04, 0.03) 0.936 0.02 (−0.02, 0.05) 0.524
Lactoferrin 1.05 ± 0.47 (218) 1.01 ± 0.37 (216) 1.03 ± 0.44 (202) 0.990 0.04 (−0.06, 0.14) 0.989 0.02 (−0.08, 0.12) 0.996 −0.02 (−0.12, 0.08) 0.998
Lactalbumin 1.34 ± 0.02 (218) 1.34 ± 0.01 (217) 1.35 ± 0.02 (202) 0.914 −0.005 (−0.06, 0.05) 0.974 −0.01 (−0.06, 0.04) 0.906 −0.005 (−0.06, 0.05) 0.976
Lysozymes 0.061 ± 0.049 (218) 0.058 ± 0.042 (217) 0.057 ± 0.041 (202) 0.610 0.03 (−0.01, 0.01) 0.797 0.004 (−0.01, 0.01) 0.592 0.001 (−0.01, 0.01) 0.936
Antitrypsin 0.037 ± 0.001 (218) 0.035 ± 0.001 (217) 0.036 ± 0.001 (202) 0.546 0.001 (−0.00, 0.00) 0.521 0.001 (−0.00, 0.00) 0.781 −0.001 (−0.00, 0.00) 0.916
IgA 0.33 ± 0.31 (218) 0.33 ± 0.12 (217) 0.35 ± 0.16 (202) 0.344 0.04 (−0.01, 0.09) 0.332 0.02 (−0.03, 0.07) 0.921 −0.02 (−0.07, 0.03) 0.574
Osteopontin 73,953 ± 46,480 (218) 66,844 ± 44,317 (217) 66,858 ± 46,114 (202) 0.272 7109 0.319 7096 0.375 −13 0.997
1

Values are means ± SDs (n), means ± SEMs (n), or MDs (95% CIs) unless otherwise indicated. Normalized ion counts are given for total, sialylated, and fucosylated HMOs and ion counts are given for osteopontin. All other values are given in grams per liter. HMO, human milk oligosaccharide; IFA, iron and folic acid; LNS, lipid-based nutrient supplement; MD, mean difference; MMN, multiple micronutrient.

2

Unadjusted global P values are presented for differences between 3 intervention groups as determined by ANOVA. After adjusting for covariates, there continued to be no differences between intervention groups for any of the outcomes. Sialylated HMOs, lactoferrin, lysozymes, and IgA were log transformed before analyses were performed. P values for the difference in osteopontin were determined by using ranks.

3

Values are expressed as MDs (95% CIs) of untransformed data. 95% CIs for pairwise comparisons of osteopontin could not be reliably estimated because of the highly skewed distribution. P values are presented for unadjusted pairwise comparisons as determined by ANOVA. Analyses were performed on untransformed variables, except for sialylated HMOs, lactoferrin, lysozymes, and IgA, which were log transformed before analysis. Analyses for osteopontin were performed using ranked ANCOVA.

4

Values are expressed as means ± SEs (n) for the following untransformed variables: total HMOs, fucosylated HMOs, lactalbumin, and antitrypsin. SEs are presented because these variables did not need transformation.

5

Values are expressed as means ± SD (n) for the following transformed variables: sialylated HMOs, lactoferrin, lysozymes, IgA, and osteopontin. SDs are presented because these variables, other than osteopontin, were log transformed, rendering back transformation of SEs difficult.