TABLE 2.
Geometric mean (95% CI) concentrations of cytokines at inclusion, 4, 6, and 12 mo in formula fed infants randomized to three different infant formulas and in a breastfed reference group
| Lf+ | Lf− | CF | P value | BF | |||||
| Inclusion | n = 68 | n = 67 | n = 36 | n = 70 | |||||
| TGF-β1 (ng/mL) | 59.6 | 56.1–63.4 | 59.5 | 56.5–62.7 | 63.1 | 58.1–68.5 | 0.436 | 58.2 | 55.4–61.1 |
| TGF-β2 (ng/mL) | 1.39 | 1.31–1.49 | 1.34 | 1.25–1.43 | 1.51∗ | 1.36–1.67 | 0.111 | 1.30 | 1.23–1.38 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 16.9 | 15.4–18.6 | 15.9 | 14.5–17.4 | 16.6 | 15.0–18.4 | 0.615 | 16.6 | 15.4–17.9 |
| IL-2 (pg/mL) | 0.72∗ | 0.56–0.88 | 0.53 | 0.39–0.69 | 0.55 | 0.35–0.76 | 0.203 | 0.38 | 0.27–0.49 |
| 4 mo | n = 67 | n = 67–68 | n = 32 | n = 67 | |||||
| TGF-β1 (ng/mL) | 66.1 | 62.9–69.4 | 63.8 | 60.4–67.3 | 65.9 | 61.2–71.0 | 0.577 | 66.9 | 63.8–70.1 |
| TGF-β2 (ng/mL) | 1.67 | 1.58–1.77 | 1.61 | 1.50–1.72 | 1.73 | 1.57–1.91 | 0.378 | 1.65 | 1.55–1.75 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 14.5 | 13.1–16.0 | 14.4 | 13.2–15.8 | 14.9 | 13.3–16.6 | 0.923 | 13.4 | 12.2–14.8 |
| IL-2 (pg/mL) | 0.93∗ | 0.70–1.17 | 1.03∗ | 0.78–1.30 | 0.95 | 0.54–1.42 | 0.862 | 0.56 | 0.40–0.74 |
| 6 mo | n = 67 | n = 67 | n = 31 | n = 66 | |||||
| TGF-β1 (ng/mL) | 60.7 | 57.4–64.2 | 58.4 | 55.1–61.7 | 62.3 | 58.3–66.5 | 0.347 | 57.4 | 54.5–60.5 |
| TGF-β2 (ng/mL) | 1.61 | 1.50–1.72 | 1.56 | 1.45–1.67 | 1.78 | 1.63–1.94 | 0.082 | 1.50 | 1.40–1.60 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 16.2 | 15.1–17.4 | 15.9 | 14.9–17.0 | 16.0 | 14.3–17.8 | 0.924 | 16.9 | 15.8–18.1 |
| IL-2 (pg/mL) | 1.64 | 1.36–1.94 | 1.63 | 1.32–1.97 | 1.20 | 0.85–1.60 | 0.180 | 1.36 | 1.10–1.64 |
| 12 mo | n = 64 | n = 67 | n = 30 | n = 58 | |||||
| TGF-β1 (ng/mL) | 54.2 | 51.6–57.0 | 52.0 | 49.4–54.8 | 55.0 | 51.4–58.7 | 0.341 | 53.4 | 50.7–56.2 |
| TGF-β2 (ng/mL) | 1.51 | 1.41–1.61 | 1.45 | 1.35–1.56 | 1.60 | 1.47–1.75 | 0.267 | 1.52 | 1.42–1.62 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 12.9 | 11.8–14.2 | 13.3 | 12.1–14.5 | 13.7 | 11.7–16.0 | 0.783 | 13.6 | 12.3–15.0 |
| IL-2 (pg/mL) | 1.93 | 1.61–2.27 | 1.99 | 1.67–2.32 | 1.64 | 1.26–2.06 | 0.428 | 1.84 | 1.57–2.12 |
Values are presented as geometric mean (95% CI).
P values for differences among intervention groups using analysis of variance for means.
BF = breastfed; CF = control formula; CI = confidence interval; IL = interleukin; Lf− = no added lactoferrin; Lf+ = added lactoferrin; TGF = transforming growth factor; TNF = tumor necrosis factor.
∗
Significantly different from BF infants (P < 0.05) in an independent sample t-test.