Abstract
In a study to evaluate mothers' own milk for pre mature infants, we followed nonfasting serum triglyceride and cholesterol in 13 infants (gest age=29÷1 [S.D.] wks, birth wt 1205÷209 g) exclusively fed own mother's milk for > 18 wks. Triglycerides during hospitalization were 166-121, 153÷67. and 154÷96 mg/dl at 31, 33, and 35 wks post conceptional age respectively. Mean cholesterol in the nursery was 138÷31 mg/dl, and mean fat intake was 5.3÷1.6 g/kg/day which did not correlate with triglyceride or cholesterol. After discharge (mean stay 60÷18 days) triglyceride rose to 371÷324 mg/dl by 47÷6 wks post conceptional age (p<0.01 compared to 35 wks) and cholesterol decreased to 116÷37 mg/dl. Serum triglycerides measured in 25 exclusively breast-fed full term infants at 47 weeks post-conceptional age were 185.4÷81.3 mg/dl, significantly lower (p<.02) than the preterm infants at this time. At 47 wks post conceptional age, 3 of the preterm infants had severe hypertriglyceridemia--730, 810. & 1100 mg/dl. Lipid profiles showed Type I hyperlipidemia (hyperchylomicronemia), with normal levels of apoprotein CII. In 2 infants studied, post heparin extrahepatic lipoprotein lipase was absent, while hepatic lipase was in the high normal range. One year follow-up revealed normal triglycerides w/o hyperchylomicronemia. In conclusion, we report severe hypertriglyceridemia may occur post hospitalization in preterm infants fed mother's milk. This may represent a transient deficiency of extrahepatic lipoprotein lipase.
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Greer, F., McCormick, A., Kashyap, M. et al. LATE HYPERTRIGLYCERIDEMIA IN VERY-LON-BIRTH-WEIGHT INFANTS FED EXCLUSIVELY HUMAN MILK. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 268 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00607
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00607