Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation in infancy increases length- and weight-for-age but not BMI to 6 years when controlling for effects of maternal smoking.
Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) are added to infant formula but their effect on long-term growth of children is under studied. We evaluated the effects of feeding LCPUFA-supplemented formula (n = 54) compared to control formula (n = 15) throughout infancy on growth from birth-6 years. Growth was described using separate models developed with the MIXED procedure of SAS(®) that included maternal smoking history and gender. Compared to children fed control formula, children who consumed LCPUFA supplemented formula had higher length-/stature-/and weight-for-age percentiles but not body mass index (BMI) percentile from birth to 6 years. Maternal smoking predicted lower stature (2-6 years), higher weight-for-length (birth-18 months) and BMI percentile (2-6 years) independent of LCPUFA effects. Gender interacted with the effect of LCPUFA on stature, and the relationship between smoking and BMI, with a larger effect for boys. Energy intake did not explain growth differences. A relatively small control sample is a limitation.
Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, United States.
L M
LM
Currie
Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, United States.
E A
EA
Tolley
Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, United States.
J M
JM
Thodosoff
Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, United States.
E H
EH
Kerling
Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, United States.
D K
DK
Sullivan
Lifespan Institute and Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, United States.
J
J
Colombo
Department of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Kansas Medical Center, United States. Electronic address: scarlson@kumc.edu.
S E
SE
Carlson
D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*
D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated
BMI; Child; DHA; Growth; Infant; LCPUFA