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. 2021 Dec 15;115(4):1166–1179. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab406

TABLE 3.

Anthropometric, hematological, iron, and inflammation parameters in umbilical vein blood and in infants over the first 6 mo postpartum born to NW and OW mothers1

Infants’ age P values
Cord blood 3 d 3 mo 6 mo Group Time Group*time
(Gestational) age NA NA NA
 NW 39.4 [38.1–40.2] (= 40) 3 [2–3] (= 29) 3.8 [3.5–4.3] (= 23) 6.5 [6.1–7.0] (= 29)
 OW 38.6 [37.3–39.4] (= 36) 2 [1–3] (= 31) 3.7 [3.4–4.2] (= 23) 6.7 [6.5–7.5] (= 27)
Sex, M/F NA NA NA
 NW 17/202 13/17 10/9 11/15
 OW 16/163 14/15 9/10 12/12
(Birth) weight, kg 0.8427 <0.001 0.1592
 NW 3.3 [2.9–3.6] (= 38) 3.0 [2.7–3.4]4 (= 31) 6.3 [5.8–6.9] (= 21) 7.7 [7.0–8.3] (= 28)
 OW 3.2 [3.0–3.5] (= 35) 3.0 [2.7–3.3]4 (= 32) 6.5 [5.7–7.3] (= 23) 8.4 [7.6–9.1] (= 28)
Exclusively breastfed, % (n) NA NA NA
 NW NA NA 40 (10) 35 (10)
 OW NA NA 30 (7) 25 (6)
Partially breastfed, % (n) NA NA NA
 NW NA NA 35 (8) 35 (8)
 OW NA NA 30 (8) 30 (7)
Hemoglobin, g/dl 0.3753 <0.001 0.6508
 NW 15.1 [14.6–16.0] (= 27) 17.1 [15.8–19.7] (= 21) 11.5 [10.6–12.2] (= 22) 11.1 [10.7–12.3] (= 29)
 OW 15.1 [13.3–16.8] (= 27) 18.0 [16.6–19.1] (= 25) 11.8 [11.0–12.4] (= 23) 11.9 [11.4–12.6] (= 27)
SF, µg/L 0.0952 <0.001 0.4327
 NW 144.9 [122.2–168.9] (= 30) 193.3 [177.5–207.6] (= 31) 123.9 [78.6–160.9] (= 23) 73.2 [50.3–105.8] (= 29)
 OW 136.5 [110.3–164.2] (= 24) 194.6 [177.9–203.3] (= 31) 108.9 [75.6–161.9] (= 23) 50.6 [33.1–107.1] (= 25)
sTfR, g/L 0.0459 <0.001 0.4680
 NW 6.5 [5.4–8.2] (= 30) 6.7 [5.3–8.1] (= 31) 5.4 [4.9–5.9] (= 23) 5.7 [4.9–6.6] (= 29)
 OW 6.5 [5.1–8.4] (= 24) 7.8 [5.6–10.1] (= 31) 5.7 [5.0–7.0] (= 23) 5.8 [5.3–6.5] (= 25)
BIS, mg/kg BW 0.0238 <0.001 0.9399
 NW 9.7 [8.3–10.9] (= 30) 10.7 [10.2–11.4] (= 31) 9.4 [7.9–11.0] (= 23) 7.7 [6.3–8.8] (= 29)
 OW 9.6 [8.3–10.2] (= 24) 10.4 [9.1–10.8] (= 31) 9.3 [7.4–10.5] (= 23) 6.6 [4.6–9.2] (= 25)
RBP, µmol/L 0.7975 <0.001 0.3350
 NW 0.85 [0.62–1.01] (= 30) 0.71 [0.60–0.89] (= 31) 0.87 [0.64–1.08] (= 23) 0.94 [0.77–1.10] (= 29)
 OW 0.67 [0.60–0.83] (= 24) 0.69 [0.60–0.83] (= 31) 0.88 [0.72–1.05] (= 23) 1.02 [0.83–1.20] (= 25)
Hepcidin, nM NA NA NA
 NW 11.64 [8.97–15.59]* (= 30) NA NA NA
 OW 6.65 [4.55–11.44] (= 27) NA NA NA
IL-6, pg/mL NA NA NA
 NW 2.56 [1.64–5.36] (= 30) NA NA NA
 OW 2.53 [1.86–6.21] (= 26) NA NA NA
CRP, mg/L 0.8764 <0.001 0.4177
 NW 0.15 [0.05–0.31] (= 30) 1.27 [0.59–5.16] (= 31) 0.26 [0.12–0.43] (= 23) 0.24 [0.10–1.38] (= 29)
 OW 0.12 [0.07–0.42] (= 24) 0.90 [0.42–2.89] (= 31) 0.26 [0.15–0.57] (= 23) 0.28 [0.16–0.67] (= 25)
AGP, g/L 0.8038 <0.001 0.6768
 NW 0.09 [0.06–0.19] (= 30) 0.22 [0.15–0.28] (= 31) 0.29 [0.25–0.48] (= 23) 0.42 [0.30–0.70] (= 29)
 OW 0.09 [0.07–0.20] (= 24) 0.19 [0.15–0.30] (= 31) 0.35 [0.26–0.49] (= 23) 0.47 [0.41–0.76] (= 25)
1

Values are median [IQR] unless otherwise indicated. LMM includes infant samples from 3 d to 6 mo. LMM analyses on SF, sTfR, and BIS include AGP as a covariate. Iron status parameters are not adjusted for inflammation. The numbers of exclusively and partially breastfed infants were comparable between groups. *Different between groups (P = 0.030). AGP, α-1-glycoprotein; BIS, body iron stores; BIS, body iron stores; BW, body weight; CRP, C-reactive protein; LMM, linear mixed-effect model; NA, not applicable; NW, normal-weight; OW, overweight/obese; RBP, retinol-binding protein; SF, serum ferritin; sTfR, soluble transferrin receptor.

2

Sex of 1 infant unknown.

3

Sex of 4 infants unknown.

4

If infant's weight at age 3 d was not recorded, we calculated infant's weight at 3 d = birth weight minus 6%.