Visual acuity and cognitive outcomes at 4 years of age in a double-blind, randomized trial of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid-supplemented infant formula

Birch E.E.; Garfield, S; Castaneda, Y; Hughbanks-Wheaton, D; Hoffman D.; Uauy R.

Keywords: behavior, acid, milk, tests, development, nutrition, diet, intelligence, long, feeding, acids, trial, supplementation, double-blind, chain, experiment, humans, scale, human, male, newborn, acuity, fat, female, formula, infant, article, child, breast, cognition, visual, blind, quotient, artificial, intake, follow, method, controlled, preschool, clinical, cognitive, study, Child,, fatty, double, up, normal, Infant,, procedure, randomized, docosahexaenoic, verbal, arachidonic, polyunsaturated, Wechsler, Milk,

Abstract

" Background: While there is a large body of data on the effects of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation of infant formula on visual and cognitive maturation during infancy, longterm visual and cognitive outcome data from randomized trials are scarce. Aim: To evaluate docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA)-supplementation of infant formula on visual and cognitive outcomes at 4 years of age. Methods: Fifty-two of 79 healthy term infants who were enrolled in a single-center, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of DHA and ARA supplementation of infant formula were available for follow-up at 4 years of age. In addition, 32 breast-fed infants served as a ""gold standard"". Outcome measures were visual acuity and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence - Revised. Results: At 4 years, the control formula group had poorer visual acuity than the breast-fed group; the DHA- and DHA + ARA-supplemented groups did not differ significantly from the breast-fed group. The control formula and DHA-supplemented groups had Verbal IQ scores poorer than the breast-fed group. Conclusion: DHA and ARA-supplementation of infant formula supports visual acuity and IQ maturation similar to that of breast-fed infants. © 2006 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. "

Más información

Título de la Revista: EARLY HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
Volumen: 83
Número: 5
Editorial: ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD
Fecha de publicación: 2007
Página de inicio: 279
Página final: 284
URL: http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-34147161672&partnerID=q2rCbXpz