Primary analyses showed that the risk of failing the ASQ problem solving domain was significantly lower among children of women who took fish oil before pregnancy (OR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.18 0.89) and during pregnancy (OR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.22 0.83). Benefits of docosahexaenoic acid, folic acid, vitamin D and iodine on foetal and infant brain development and function following maternal supplementation during pregnancy and lactation.
(68) A randomized double-blind controlled trial described a correlation between postnatal DHA supplementation in preterm infants and Bayley Mental Development Index (MDI) scores at 18 months corrected age among females only. Socioeconomic disadvantage and neural development from infancy through early childhood. Boucher O, Burden MJ, Muckle G, Saint-Amour D, Ayotte P, Dewailly E, et al. (71, 72) When stratifying by plurality in our study, the beneficial association on problem solving was significant for singletons but not twins. official website and that any information you provide is encrypted In total, the analyses encompassed 4843 mother-child pairs with baseline characteristics displayed in Table 1. (79) While we cannot rule out postnatal n-3 PUFA exposures in our current study (e.g., infant formulas supplemented with DHA (80)), research suggests that the positive impacts of this prenatal exposure may be long-lasting, even after continuous supplementation has ceased. Dunstan JA, Simmer K, Dixon G, Prescott SL.
sharing sensitive information, make sure youre on a federal Drover J, Hoffman DR, Castaeda YS, Morale SE, Birch EE. Evidence from clinical trials.
Mothers were asked (yes/no) if they took fish oil (n-3 PUFA) more than once per week in the 12 months preceding pregnancy. On average, 23% of children failed each domain. Koletzko B, Larqu E, Demmelmair H. Placental transfer of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA). The results suggest that maternal prenatal fish oil supplementation may be beneficial to child neurodevelopment, specifically with regards to problem solving.
Maternal Obesity, Overweight and Gestational Diabetes Affect the Offspring Neurodevelopment at 6 and 18 Months of Age A Follow Up from the PREOBE Cohort. Maternal consumption of a DHA-containing functional food benefits infant sleep patterning: an early neurodevelopmental measure. A lower risk of failing the problem solving domain persisted in a third model which was further adjusted for prenatal vitamin usage and fish consumption (supplementation before pregnancy OR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.18 0.90 and during pregnancy OR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.22 0.84). Prenatal fish oil supplementation may be beneficial in regards to neurodevelopment. Gould JF, Smithers LG, Makrides M. The effect of maternal omega-3 (n-3) LCPUFA supplementation during pregnancy on early childhood cognitive and visual development: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Suganuma H, Arai Y, Kitamura Y, Hayashi M, Okumura A, Shimizu T. Maternal docosahexaenoic acid-enriched diet prevents neonatal brain injury. Due to many missing values, we ran analyses, adjusted for both sociodemographic and nutritional factors, for only those mother-child pairs with prenatal fish consumption data (n=2412) to compare with the analyses of the entire dataset which included imputed values. Furthermore, while intermittent interactions were also observed at 30 months with fine motor and overall fails, no other interactions were detected at additional time points. Fish oil contains omega-3 fatty acids, which play a vital role in fetal growth and development. Buck Louis GM, Hediger ML, Bell EM, Kus CA, Sundaram R, McLain AC, et al. We were unable to detect a significant statistical interaction for supplementation during pregnancy and gender.
Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids and optimization of cognitive performance. For the analyses, fish consumption was treated as a dichotomous covariate (0 servings of fish eaten per week or > 0 servings of fish eaten per week) due to few mothers eating multiple servings per week. Arterburn LM, Hall EB, Oken H. Distribution, interconversion, and dose response of n-3 fatty acids in humans. All infants with birth certificates indicating conception by way of infertility treatment were recruited to participate in the study. In total, 5034 mothers were recruited, including mothers of singletons, twins and higher order births.
(9) Perinatal brain maturation reaches its peak growth rate during the third trimester of gestation(6), requiring rapid DHA accretion into retinal and neural tissues. (12) DHA and EPA enter fetal circulation through simple diffusion across the placenta driven by a concentration gradient. However, our analyses were strengthened by the notable sample size of greater than 4,800 mother-child pairs. Supported by the Intramural Research Program of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD; contracts #HHSN275201200005C, #HHSN267200700019C). Additionally, nutritional data was captured on self-reported questionnaires. However, in gender stratified analyses, the risk of failing both the problem solving (OR 0.17, 95% CI: 0.03 0.95) and the personal-social (OR 0.33, 95% CI: 0.12 0.95) domains were significantly lower among girls whose mothers used fish oil supplementation but not in boys (OR 0.64; 95% CI: 0.301.36), when adjusted for sociodemographic factors. Yolton K, Khoury J, Xu Y, Succop P, Lanphear B, Bernert JT, et al. First, exposure data on maternal fish oil consumption was captured on the maternal baseline questionnaire as a dichotomous variable (once or more per week), limiting our ability to distinguish specific dose or the exact frequency of supplementation. First, the accumulation of n-3 PUFA within the cell membranes may result in enhanced information processing speed which would thus lead to improved problem solving. Sex differences in the relationship of dietary Fatty acids to cognitive measures in american children. about navigating our updated article layout.
Nutritional factors such as prenatal vitamin usage and fish consumption were adjusted for in a third model. Imaging incorporation of circulating docosahexaenoic acid into the human brain using positron emission tomography.
Careers.
The 12 month questionnaire inquired about how many servings of fish were consumed per week during pregnancy. Phillips MA, Childs CE, Calder PC, Rogers PJ. Additionally, the sample size of twins was smaller than that of singletons.
Five developmental domains were assessed: fine motor, gross motor, communication, personal-social functioning, and problem solving. Future research needs to focus on clearing up discrepancies in the literature, establishing optimal dosages, identifying the ideal timing and duration of supplementation, the persistence of subsequent health outcomes, gender interactions, and impacts on children of multiple births. The elements of each questionnaire were scored as follows: yes = 10 points, sometimes = 5 points, not yet = 0 points. Given that pregnant women are advised to increase n-3 PUFA intake to aid fetal brain development while concurrently restricting fish and seafood consumption, our findings demonstrate the potential value of fish oil supplementation as an alternate source of n-3 PUFA during pregnancy. Ages & Stages Questionnaires [R], (ASQ-3 [TM]): A Parent-Completed Child-Monitoring System.
Supporting the criticality of the in utero exposure time point, prenatal n-3 PUFA deficiencies have been strongly linked with decrements in cognitive function and neurodevelopment. We also assessed the relationship among the mothers who indicated supplementing throughout both time points and ASQ fails. (8) Due to maternal dietary limitations and environmental health concerns, fish oil supplementation may be consumed as a substantial source of n-3 PUFA during pregnancy(17). Wadhawan R, Oh W, Vohr BR, Wrage L, Das A, Bell EF, et al. The ASQ-2nd edition was used to screen the children at 46, 8, and 12 months of age. Bethesda, MD 20894, Web Policies Bale TL, Baram TZ, Brown AS, Goldstein JM, Insel TR, McCarthy MM, et al. Umhau JC, Zhou W, Carson RE, Rapoport SI, Polozova A, Demar J, et al. (44) While the underlying mechanisms between n-3 PUFA and cognition remain unknown, several postulations exist. Animal models show that the learning deficits associated with shortages of n-3 PUFA during this critical prenatal period are challenging to reverse(77) and reduce brain plasticity and performance in adulthood. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. McNamara RK, Carlson SE. Although the evidence is inconsistent (29), prenatal fish oil supplementation has been associated with modest improvements in gross motor function.
(34, 36). Specifically, it is associated with a lower risk of failing the problem solving domain up to 3 years of age. (66) In early life, females begin storing DHA in adipose deposits in order to support the growth and development of future offspring(54, 67); therefore, higher quantities of the nutrient are required. Fish Oil Trials In Pregnancy (FOTIP) Team. Independent of dietary intake, females typically have greater blood lipid concentrations of DHA than males. (78) With a half-life in the human brain of approximately two and a half years, DHA content remains for a substantial amount of time.
Intrauterine fatty acid accretion rates in human brain: implications for fatty acid requirements. While our study did not detect an effect on gross motor function, the ASQ may not be sensitive enough to capture these subtle variations. The Upstate KIDS Study is a population-based birth cohort in New York State (excluding the five New York City boroughs) originally designed to examine the impact of infertility treatment on child growth and development. Similarly, associations were primarily among singletons. The baseline questionnaire also collected information on how many days per week the mothers took prenatal vitamins. Saccone G, Saccone I, Berghella V. Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and fish oil supplementation during pregnancy: which evidence? (18) Observational studies have found that cord blood n-3 PUFA concentrations are associated with improved language, cognitive, visual motor(19) and memory skills(20) among children aged 11 months through 12 years suggesting that prenatal n-3 PUFA intake is of importance with effects potentially spanning many years (21). In addition, we investigate any divergences in these impacts among singletons and twins. (13) In the adult liver, DHA is metabolically converted from alpha-linolenic acid (ALA); however, de novo synthesis is inefficient in humans(14) and elevated perinatal requirements cannot be met solely via endogenous formation. A higher percentage of children in the no fish oil group tended to fail than the fish oil group. (31) Additionally, multiples are known to be at increased risk of neurodevelopmental delays due to the elevated likelihood of adverse health outcomes such as low birth weight.(32). Barker DJ, Eriksson JG, Forsn T, Osmond C. Fetal origins of adult disease: strength of effects and biological basis. (15) Preformed n-3 PUFA, directly obtained through diet, accumulates more readily than those derived from precursor acids due to enhanced bioavailability. McFadyen M, Farquharson J, Cockburn F. Maternal and umbilical cord erythrocyte omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and haemorheology in singleton and twin pregnancies. 
Neurophysiologic and neurobehavioral evidence of beneficial effects of prenatal omega-3 fatty acid intake on memory function at school age. 
omega sources fat elements easy foods salmon fish brain healthy source worst eat blood diet fats hdl fatty eating Both infants and the elderly are vulnerable populations with regard to many exposures. Generalized linear mixed models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) while adjusting for covariates.
Maternal seafood consumption in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental outcomes in childhood (ALSPAC study): an observational cohort study. When testing an interaction term between the time of the ASQ and supplementation status, some evidence suggested an interaction with the problem solving domain when the children were older (30 and 36 months); however, sporadic interactions were also observed at the 30-month time point with the fine motor domain and overall fails (data not shown). Gollenberg AL, Lynch CD, Jackson LW, McGuinness BM, Msall ME. A separate question queried if fish oil supplementation was taken more than one time per week during pregnancy. WHO. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Colombo J, Kannass KN, Shaddy DJ, Kundurthi S, Maikranz JM, Anderson CJ, et al. (65) Therefore, fish oil supplementation, typically free from contaminants found in fish and seafood, may be a valuable alternative source of n-3 PUFA. Three randomized controlled trials of early long-chain polyunsaturated Fatty Acid supplementation on means-end problem solving in 9-month-olds. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was included in separate models both as the World Health Organizations (WHO) classifications(37) and as a continuous variable. Gow RV, Hibbeln JR. Omega-3 fatty acid and nutrient deficits in adverse neurodevelopment and childhood behaviors. The outcomes were treated as binary variables (pass/fail) due to the original design of the tool which intends the ASQ to be used as an initial screening test accompanied by follow-up assessment in situations where a child fails any domain or there is parental concern (36).
Uauy R, Mena P, Wegher B, Nieto S, Salem N. Long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid formation in neonates: effect of gestational age and intrauterine growth.
Maternal prenatal omega-3 fatty acid supplementation attenuates hyperoxia-induced apoptosis in the developing rat brain. (4, 51) n-3 PUFA deficiency has been related to the suppression of the biosynthesis of catecholamines, neurotransmitters that are essential for learning and memory function(52), in the offspring of rats. Dyall SC, Michael GJ, Michael-Titus AT. Cheatham CL, Colombo J, Carlson SE. It has been demonstrated that while singleton newborns have higher mean erythrocyte DHA concentrations than their mothers at the time of birth, twins have lower levels suggesting fetal insufficiencies. The body of evidence supporting the beneficial fetal impacts of maternal fish oil supplementation is mounting. (81) Our analyses examined twins in addition to singletons and independently. The .gov means its official. However, because many of the mothers were likely to supplement during both timeframes, precision was reduced and the findings did not reach statistical significance in models among mothers who only supplemented prior to pregnancy (4%) or only during pregnancy (8%) after excluding those who supplemented both before and during (7%). Methodology for establishing a population-based birth cohort focusing on couple fertility and childrens development, the Upstate KIDS Study. (14) Suggested mechanisms include differences among rates of -oxidation, adipose tissue composition, and sex hormone function between the genders. In situations where less than ten pairs were missing specific covariate information, the data was imputed using the mean observed response from the existing dataset (e.g., insurance and smoking).(41). Tuzun F, Kumral A, Ozbal S, Dilek M, Tugyan K, Duman N, et al. The cognitive cost of being a twin: evidence from comparisons within families in the Aberdeen children of the 1950s cohort study. Early life programming and neurodevelopmental disorders. The Institutional Review Boards (IRB) at the New York State Department of Health and the University at Albany approved the study and under a reliance agreement served as the IRBs designated by the National Institutes of Health. The five domains were viewed as independent hypotheses since in clinical practice they are informative of distinct and tailored interventions and no corrections for multiple comparisons were made; therefore, p < 0.05 was considered significant. Ghassabian A, Sundaram R, Bell E, Bello SC, Kus C, Yeung E. Gross Motor Milestones and Subsequent Development. Lauritzen L, Hansen HS, Jrgensen MH, Michaelsen KF.
With regards to nutrition, taking fish oil supplementation was associated with also taking prenatal vitamins and consuming fish during pregnancy. Clouard C, Souza AS, Gerrits WJ, Hovenier R, Lammers A, Bolhuis JE. Sensitivity analyses included several independent models. Furthermore, our findings suggest that female children experienced the greatest benefit from maternal supplementation with lower risks of personal-social and problem solving deficits significantly correlated to prenatal fish oil exposure. Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys. The frequencies and percentages of ASQ domain failures by supplementation group were obtained and presented for each of the seven specific stages of screening. Bhatia HS, Agrawal R, Sharma S, Huo YX, Ying Z, Gomez-Pinilla F. Omega-3 fatty acid deficiency during brain maturation reduces neuronal and behavioral plasticity in adulthood. Prenatal DHA status and neurological outcome in children at age 5.5 years are positively associated. Lastly, both fish oil supplementation and child performance on the ASQ were assessed using maternal report which could potentially introduce bias. (26, 27) Additionally, research indicates that the effects of DHA on the developing brain may be impacted by gender and genotype (21). In utero exposure to omega-3 fatty acids is exclusively dependent on maternal nutrition. (1, 2) Maternal nutrition has a substantial influence on offspring neurodevelopment during early life due to increased fetal metabolic requirements and neurologic vulnerabilities. Bakker EC, Hornstra G, Blanco CE, Vles JS. Maternal supplementation with very-long-chain n-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation augments childrens IQ at 4 years of age.
Controversial studies have warranted further prospective research to investigate the potential long-term effects of prenatal fish oil intake and child development (29)). with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II in a low-risk sample. 8600 Rockville Pike
The authors assert that all procedures contributing to this work comply with the ethical standards approved by the New York State Department of Health and the University of Albany Institutional Review Board (NYSDOH IRB #07-097; UAlbany #08-179) serving as the IRB designated by the National Institutes of Health for this study under a reliance agreement. Barker DJ, Clark PM.
Each of the ten imputed datasets were analyzed and the resultant data were then pooled to achieve complete analyses. Meldrum S, Dunstan JA, Foster JK, Simmer K, Prescott SL. Holman RT. Reversibility of n-3 fatty acid deficiency-induced alterations of learning behavior in the rat: level of n-6 fatty acids as another critical factor. Chin-Lun Hung G, Hahn J, Alamiri B, Buka SL, Goldstein JM, Laird N, et al.
dha mg omega vegan oil epa 1158 pleasant taste 1Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 2Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA, 3Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Branch, Division of Intramural Population Health Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. Schlotz W, Phillips DI. Singletons who were not conceived through infertility treatments were frequency matched on geographic residence and recruited at a ratio of 3:1 to those infants who were exposed to infertility treatment. Gould JF, Makrides M, Colombo J, Smithers LG. (45) Supplementation of n-3 PUFA has also been associated with heightened attention which in turn is linked with improved cognition. Randomized controlled trial of maternal omega-3 long-chain PUFA supplementation during pregnancy and early childhood development of attention, working memory, and inhibitory control.
Consumption of fish and n-3 fatty acids and risk of incident Alzheimer disease.
A recent randomized controlled trial did not find any evidence supporting the long-term beneficial impacts of prenatal fish oil supplementation on child attention (48). FOIA After adjustment for sociodemographic and maternal lifestyle factors (Model 2), the risk of failing the problem solving domain remained significantly lower among those who supplemented with fish oil before pregnancy (OR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.18 0.89) and during pregnancy (OR 0.43, 95% CI: 0.22 0.83).
Concurrent validity of the parent-completed Ages and Stages Questionnaires, 2nd Ed. Lauritzen L, Brambilla P, Mazzocchi A, Harslf LB, Ciappolino V, Agostoni C. DHA Effects in Brain Development and Function. (4) Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), the two most biologically active n-3 PUFAs(8), are nutrients vital for optimal growth and development during the fetal and early postnatal stages of life. (2830) The mixed results may be attributed, in part, to high attrition rates, lack of statistical power, diverse study designs, and varying time points for outcome assessment. National Library of Medicine Another potential explanation is that DHA promotes neurite growth within the hippocampus and accumulates rapidly in the fetal brain at the same time as critical myelination and synaptogenesis. Despite limitations from the observational nature of our study design, we found that reported maternal fish oil supplementation, both before and during pregnancy, was protective against failing the problem solving domain of the ASQ with the association persisting until three years of age. Morse NL. Similarly, a randomized clinical trial examining maternal fish oil supplementation and pregnancy outcomes failed to detect effects in twin pregnancies. Self-reported prenatal fish oil supplementation data was available for 5,845 children (3807 singletons and 2038 twins). (62) With the transition of corn and grain based livestock feeds, animals have become n-3 deficient and thus, our meat sources lack n-3 PUFA as well. The Campoy C, Escolano-Margarit MV, Ramos R, Parrilla-Roure M, Csbi G, Beyer J, et al. Report of a WHO consultation. Due to the potential differences in neurodevelopment, stratified analyses were conducted by gender and plurality. Odds ratio for risk of developmental delays by maternal fish oil supplementation status. Mother-child pairs from the Upstate KIDS Study, a birth cohort consisting of children born between 2008 and 2010, were included. Secondary analyses were suggestive of a positive relationship between fish oil supplementation and personal-social and problem solving skills among female children only. The hippocampus, frontal lobes, and basal ganglia of the brain, areas that are fundamental in higher-order cognition(42, 43), are all very receptive to DHA. The studys design of oversampling based on infertility treatment and multiples was accounted for by the use of sampling weights, which were derived from New York state birth certificate data, in the analyses. Willatts P, Forsyth JS, DiModugno MK, Varma S, Colvin M. Effect of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in infant formula on problem solving at 10 months of age. The number of mothers who took rare supplements (e.g., St. Johns Wort, Echinacea) during pregnancy was very low (n=31); therefore, we were unable to detect any association with ASQ scores. Jacobson JL, Jacobson SW, Muckle G, Kaplan-Estrin M, Ayotte P, Dewailly E. Beneficial effects of a polyunsaturated fatty acid on infant development: evidence from the inuit of arctic Quebec. Morris MC, Evans DA, Bienias JL, Tangney CC, Bennett DA, Wilson RS, et al. Measuring socioeconomic status in studies of child development. (75) Our study identified significant interactions with problem solving at 30 and 36 months and in utero supplementation status; however, this relationship may be attributed to more appreciable problem solving skills at older ages. All analyses were performed using SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Five developmental domains were assessed: fine motor, gross motor, communication, personal-social and problem solving.
However, a consensus regarding n-3 PUFA supplementation and aforementioned benefits has not been reached. Neurodevelopmental outcomes of twins. Lassek WD, Gaulin SJ.
Huffman SL, Harika RK, Eilander A, Osendarp SJ. Sedlmeier EM, Brunner S, Much D, Pagel P, Ulbrich SE, Meyer HH, et al.
The authors thank all the Upstate KIDS participants and staff for their important contributions. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the Maternal Fish Oil Supplementation Affects the Social Behavior, Brain Fatty Acid Profile, and Sickness Response of Piglets.
Confounders were selected a priori based on previously described associations with the exposure and child developmental deficits (e.g., educational achievement(38), income(39), and maternal smoking during pregnancy(40)). Maternal baseline characteristics by fish oil supplementation status. It is widely accepted that the intrauterine environment not only plays a pivotal role in fetal development but has the potential to cause lasting health effects in offspring. Relationship between long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids at birth and motor function at 7 years of age. Gender interaction was not statistically significant although stratified results indicated stronger associations among girls. The influence of long chain polyunsaturate supplementation on docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid in baboon neonate central nervous system. Vital records in combination with self-reported information (where missing) provided demographic data on maternal age, race/ethnicity, educational achievement, marital status, and health insurance status.
Gamoh S, Hashimoto M, Hossain S, Masumura S. Chronic administration of docosahexaenoic acid improves the performance of radial arm maze task in aged rats. The potential for fetal insufficiencies of n-3 PUFA during critical windows of development is of concern due to the transition of many to Westernized diets high in saturated fats and low in polyunsaturated fatty acids, specifically n-3 PUFA. Cognitive assessment of children at age 2(1/2) years after maternal fish oil supplementation in pregnancy: a randomised controlled trial. Clandinin MT, Chappell JE, Leong S, Heim T, Swyer PR, Chance GW. (34, 36) The items from each domain were then summed with total scores ranging from 0 to 300 (60 points for each domain). Effects of prenatal fish-oil and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate supplementation on cognitive development of children at 6.5 y of age.