Prenatal Docosahexaenoic Acid Supplementation and Offspring Development at 18 Months: Randomized Controlled Trial

Study answer

What this study found

Prenatal DHA did not improve overall infant development at 18 months. On the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II, the Mental Development Index was 94.3 (10.7) with DHA versus 95.2 (9.3) with placebo, with an adjusted difference of -1.00 (-2.42, 0.42); the Psychomotor Development Index was 93.0 (8.9) versus 93.3 (9.8), adjusted difference -0.46 (-1.80, 0.88). Behavior Rating Scale scores were essentially identical (111.5 vs 111.5; adjusted difference -0.01 [-0.95, 0.93]). Post-hoc analyses suggested possible benefit in less responsive or less stimulating home environments, but the primary…

Study & population

Randomized controlled trial in pregnant women receiving routine prenatal care in Cuernavaca, Mexico, with very low dietary intake of preformed DHA.

Intervention

Pregnant participants in the active arm received oral algal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) at a dose of 2 capsules containing 200 mg each daily, taken together once per day.

Key limitation

The primary findings were null, and the subgroup signals were post-hoc and therefore hypothesis-generating only.

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Original abstract