Effects of maternal docosahexaenoic acid intake on visual function and neurodevelopment in breastfed term infants.
BACKGROUND
Normal brain and visual development is thought to require exogenous docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) intake, but the amount needed is debatable. Because the supplementation of breastfeeding mothers with DHA increases the DHA content of their infants' plasma lipids, we hypothesized that it might also improve brain or visual function in the infants.


OBJECTIVE
The objective was to determine the effect of DHA supplementation of breastfeeding mothers on neurodevelopmental status and visual function in the recipient infant.


METHODS
Breastfeeding women received capsules containing either a high-DHA algal oil ( approximately 200 mg DHA/d) or a vegetable oil (no DHA) for 4 mo after delivery. Outcome variables included the fatty acid pattern of maternal plasma phospholipid and milk lipids 4 mo postpartum, the fatty acid pattern of plasma phospholipids and visual function in infants at 4 and 8 mo of age, and neurodevelopmental indexes of the infants at 12 and 30 mo of age.


RESULTS
Milk lipid and infant plasma phospholipid DHA contents of the supplemented and control groups were approximately 75% and approximately 35% higher, respectively, at 4 mo postpartum. However, neither the neurodevelopmental indexes of the infants at 12 mo of age nor the visual function at 4 or 8 mo of age differed significantly between groups. In contrast, the Bayley Psychomotor Development Index, but not the Mental Development Index, of the supplemented group was higher (P < 0.01) at 30 mo of age.


CONCLUSIONS
DHA supplementation of breastfeeding mothers results in higher infant plasma phospholipid DHA contents during supplementation and a higher Bayley Psychomotor Development Index at 30 mo of age but results in no other advantages either at or before this age.
US Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center and the Meyer Center for Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. cjensen@bcm.tmc.edu
Craig L
CL
Jensen
Robert G
RG
Voigt
Thomas C
TC
Prager
Yali L
YL
Zou
J Kennard
JK
Fraley
Judith C
JC
Rozelle
Marie R
MR
Turcich
Antolin M
AM
Llorente
Robert E
RE
Anderson
William C
WC
Heird
D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000187:drug effects*
D010743:Phospholipids; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids