title: Erythrocyte fatty acid composition of Nepal breast-fed infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Essential fatty acids play a critical role in the growth and development of infants, but little is known about the fatty acid status of populations in low-income countries. The objective was to describe the fatty acid composition of red blood cells (RBC) in breastfeed Nepali infants and a subsample of their mothers and to identify the main sources of fatty acids in the mother's diet, as well as the fatty acid composition of breast milk.
  
  
  METHODS
  RBC fatty acid composition was analyzed in a random sample of 303 infants and 72 mother, along with 68 breastmilk samples. Fatty acid profiles of the most important dietary fat sources were analyzed. Information on mother's diet and intake of fat was collected by three 24-h dietary recalls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In infant RBC's, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) was the main n-3 fatty acid, and arachidonic acid (AA) was the major n-6 fatty acid. Total n-6 PUFA was three times higher than total n-3 PUFA. Height-for-age (HAZ) was positively associated with DHA status and AA status in multivariable models. The concentration of all fatty acids was higher in children, compared to mothers, except Total n-6 PUFA and Linoleic acid (LA) where no differences were found. The mother's energy intake from fat was 13% and cooking oil (sesame, mustard, soybean or sunflower oil) contributed 52% of the fat intake.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RBC-DHA levels in both infants and mother was unexpected high taking into account few dietary DHA sources and the low DHA concentrations in breastmilk.
authors.affiliation: Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, St. Olavs plass, P.O. Box 4, 0130, Oslo, Norway. sigrun.henjum@hioa.no.
authors.forename: Sigrun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Henjum
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), P.O. Box 2029, 5817, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Øyvind
authors.initials: Ø
authors.lastname: Lie
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Maharajgunj, P.O. Box 1524, 44600, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Manjeswori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ulak
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Nutrition, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.|Departments of Nutrition, Epidemiology, and Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Thorne-Lyman
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine, Kathmandu Medical College, 21266, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Ram K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Chandyo
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Maharajgunj, P.O. Box 1524, 44600, Kathmandu, Nepal.
authors.forename: Prakash S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Shrestha
authors.affiliation: Departments of Nutrition, Epidemiology, and Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, 665 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Wafaie
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: W Fawzi
authors.affiliation: Department of Research, Innlandet Hospital Trust and Centre for International Health, University of Bergen, 2629, Lillehammer, Norway.
authors.forename: Tor A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Strand
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), P.O. Box 2029, 5817, Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kjellevold
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000208:ethnology; D002657:Child Development; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003677:Deficiency Diseases / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control; D018752:Diet, Fat-Restricted / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000208:ethnology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000208:ethnology; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015995:Prevalence; D013851:Thinness / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005227:Fatty Acids; D005228:Fatty Acids, Essential; D010938:Plant Oils
keywords: AA; Breast-fed children; Breastmilk; DHA; Plasma phospholipids; Polyunsaturated fatty acids