title: Effects of high-dose fish oil supplementation during early infancy on neurodevelopment and language: a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: n-3 Long-chain PUFA (LC-PUFA) intake during infancy is important for neurodevelopment; however, previous studies of n-3 LC-PUFA supplementation have been inconclusive possibly due to an insufficient dose and limited methods of assessment. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of direct supplementation with high-dose fish oil (FO) on infant neurodevelopmental outcomes and language. In the present randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 420 healthy term infants were assigned to receive a DHA-enriched FO supplement (containing at least 250 mg DHA/d and 60 mg EPA/d) or a placebo (olive oil) from birth to 6 months. Assessment occurred at 18 months via the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (3rd edition; BSID-III) and the Child Behavior Checklist. Language assessment occurred at 12 and 18 months via the Macarthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. The FO group had significantly higher erythrocyte DHA (P = 0·03) and plasma phospholipid DHA (P = 0·01) levels at 6 months of age relative to placebo. In a small subset analysis (about 40% of the total population), children in the FO group had significantly higher percentile ranks of both later developing gestures at 12 and 18 months (P = 0·007; P = 0·002, respectively) and the total number of gestures (P = 0·023; P = 0·006, respectively). There was no significant difference between the groups in the standard or composite scores of the BSID-III. The results suggest that improved postnatal n-3 LC-PUFA intake in the first 6 months of life using high-dose infant FO supplementation was not beneficial to global infant neurodevelopment. However, some indication of benefits to early communicative development was observed.
authors.affiliation: School of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Western Australia, M561, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, 6009 WA, Australia. suzanne.meldrum@uwa.edu.au
authors.forename: Suzanne J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Meldrum
authors.forename: Nina
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: D'Vaz
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Simmer
authors.forename: Janet A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dunstan
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hird
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Prescott
mesh_terms: D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D002657:Child Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3 / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005395:Fish Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D007802:Language; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D015525:Fatty Acids, Omega-3; D005395:Fish Oils; D010743:Phospholipids; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid