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Subject:
From:
Lisa Marasco IBCLC <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:19:50 -0700
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Diana,
There is quite a bit of animal research with a number of environmental
contaminants interfering with mammary gland development and lactation. There
is also a new human study I'm posting below that is one of the first studies
to bridge the gap from the animal research to humans.  I suspect it is the
tip of the iceberg. I have corresponded with the author and encouraged her
to follow these girls as they marry and have children-I'm dying to find out
if what I suspect will happen really does.  

~Lisa


Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Mar;114(3):471-5.   Links 
Altered breast development in young girls from an agricultural
environment.Guillette EA, Conard C, Lares F, Aguilar MG, McLachlan J,
Guillette LJ Jr. 
Department of Anthropology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
02611, USA. [log in to unmask]

In several human populations, the age at which female breast development
begins is reported to have declined over the last five decades. Much debate
has occurred over whether this reported decline has actually occurred and
what factors contribute to it. However, geographical patterns reflecting
earlier developmental onset in some human populations suggest environmental
factors influence this phenomenon. These factors include interactions
between genetic makeup, nutrition, and possible cumulative exposure to
estrogens, both endogenous as well as environmental beginning during in
utero development. We examined the onset of breast development in a group of
peripubertal girls from the Yaqui Valley of Sonora, Mexico. We observed that
girls from valley towns, areas using modern agricultural practices,
exhibited larger breast fields than those of girls living in the foothills
who exhibited similar stature [e.g., weight, height, body mass index (BMI)],
and genetic background. Further, girls from valley towns displayed a poorly
defined relationship between breast size and mammary gland development,
whereas girls from the Yaqui foothills, where traditional ranching occurs,
show a robust positive relationship between breast size and mammary size.
The differences noted were obtained by a medically based exam involving
morphometric analysis and palpation of tissues, in contrast to visual
staging alone. In fact, use of the Tanner scale, involving visual staging of
breast development for puberty, detected no differences between the study
populations. Mammary tissue, determined by palpation, was absent in 18.5% of
the girls living in agricultural areas, although palpable breast adipose
tissue was present. No relationship was seen between mammary diameter and
weight or BMI in either population. These data suggest that future in-depth
studies examining mammary tissue growth and fat deposition in breast tissue
are required if we are to understand environmental influences on these
phenomena.

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