Beneficial Effects of a Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid on Infant Development: Evidence from the Inuit of Arctic Quebec
Received 4 January 2007; received in revised form 11 June 2007; accepted 6 July 2007. published online 22 October 2007.
Objectives
To examine the relation of cord plasma docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) concentration to gestation length, birth size, growth, and infant visual acuity, cognitive, and motor development and the effects on growth and development associated with DHA intake from breast-feeding.
Study design
DHA, other polyunsaturated fatty acids, and 3 environmental contaminants (polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury, and lead) were assessed in cord plasma and maternal plasma and milk in 109 Inuit infants in Arctic Quebec. Multiple regression was used to examine the relation of cord DHA and DHA from breast-feeding on growth and development at 6 and 11 months, after controlling for contaminant exposure and other potential confounders.
Results
Higher cord DHA concentration was associated with longer gestation, better visual acuity and novelty preference on the Fagan Test at 6 months, and better Bayley Scale mental and psychomotor performance at 11 months. By contrast, DHA from breast-feeding was not related to any indicator of cognitive or motor development in this full-term sample.
Conclusions
The association of higher cord DHA concentration with more optimal visual, cognitive, and motor development is consistent with the need for substantial increases in this critically important fatty acid during the third trimester spurt of synaptogenesis in brain and photoreceptor development.
aFrom the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan
bSchool of Psychology, Laval University, and Public Health Research Unit, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec (CHUQ) and Centre Hospitalier de l’Université Laval (CHUL), Quebec, Canada
cDepartment of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detriot, MI
dDepartment of Social and Preventive Medicine, Laval University, and Public Health Research Unit, CHUQ Research Centre (CHUL), Quebec, Canada.
Reprint requests: Joseph L. Jacobson, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 2751 E Jefferson, Suite 460, Detroit, MI 48202.
Supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (R01 ES07902), Indian and Northern Affairs, Canada (Northern Contaminants Program), Health Canada, Hydro-Quebec (Environmental Child Health Initiative), and Joseph Young, Sr, Fund of the State of Michigan.
ABSTRACT