Cross-sectional assessment of infants’ exposure to toxic metals through breast milk in a prospective cohort study of mining communities in Ghana

Table 3 Amounts of toxic metals detected in mothers’ breast milk

Descriptive parameters	Amount of toxic metals, (ng/g of milk^b)
Descriptive parameters	As	Pb	Hg	Cd
Geometric mean	26.70	13.828	7.61	1.23
SD	20.30	23.692	10.72	1.17
95% CL (low)	22.01	8.356	5.14	0.96
95% CL (high)	31.39	19.301	10.09	1.50
Median	27.75	11.00	8.37	1.20
Minimum	7.00	5.30	1.36	0.60
Maximum	120.4	117.2	63.52	6.30
WHO “normal condition levels” in human breast milk (ng/mL)^d	-	2.0–5.0	1.4–1.7	1.0
WHO limits in drinking water (ng/mL)^c	10^a	10^a	0.500	1.0

^aGuideline with health implication; ^b1g of human breast milk is equivalent to 0.970 mL; ^{c d} [25]

ISSN: 1471-2458