Neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years’ corrected age in preterm infants who were fed high-dose docosahexaenoic acid to term equivalent: a follow-up of a randomised controlled trial

Study answer

What this study found

High-DHA feeding did not improve IQ or other neurodevelopmental outcomes at 7 years' corrected age compared with standard-DHA feeding. For the primary outcome, Full Scale IQ was 98.3 (14.0) in the high-DHA group and 98.5 (14.9) in the standard-DHA group, with an adjusted treatment effect of -0.3 (95% CI -2.9 to 2.2; p=0.79). There were no significant differences in verbal IQ, performance IQ, attention, memory, executive function, behavior, visual perception, educational progress, or quality of life. Parent-reported ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, and cerebral palsy outcomes also did not…

Study & population

Follow-up of a randomized controlled trial in very preterm infants born before 33 weeks' gestation at five Australian tertiary hospitals.

Intervention

The high-DHA arm received enteral DHA from the first week of life until 40 weeks' corrected age, with infant feeds providing about 50 mg/kg/day of DHA and preterm formula containing approximately 1.0% DHA and 0.6% AA.

Key limitation

Follow-up was incomplete relative to the original randomized cohort, with attrition from 657 randomized to 604 consenting and fewer children analyzed for the primary outcome.

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Original abstract