Effects of Omega-3-6-9 fatty acid supplementation on behavior and sleep in preterm toddlers with autism symptomatology: Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial.

What this study found

Omega-3-6-9 supplementation improved several caregiver-reported behavior outcomes over 90 days, but did not improve sleep or most other domains. Compared with placebo, anxious/depressed behavior decreased more in the active arm (difference in change -1.27, p = 0.049, d = -0.58) and internalizing behavior also improved (difference in change -3.41, p = 0.05, d = -0.68). The largest effect was for VABS-2 interpersonal relationships, which improved by 7.50 points versus placebo (p = 0.01, d = 0.83). No significant benefit was seen for sleep measures, including nocturnal sleep duration (p = 0.44)…

Study & population

Secondary analysis of a single-site randomized clinical trial conducted at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Intervention

Toddlers in the active arm received 90 days of daily oral omega-3-6-9 fatty acid supplementation as a lemon-flavored fish and borage oil.

Key limitation

Interpretation is limited by the very small active-arm sample, short 90-day duration, and single-site design.

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