Visual maturation of term infants fed long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid-supplemented or control formula for 12 mo.
What this study found
Overall, LCP-supplemented formula improved visual development and altered red blood cell lipid composition, without affecting growth. Visual evoked potential acuity was significantly better in the supplemented group at 6, 17, 39, and 52 weeks, with an overall difference of about 0.12 logMAR favoring supplementation. Random-dot stereoacuity was better at 17 weeks (P = 0.001) but not at 39 or 52 weeks. RBC DHA was 29% higher at 6 weeks, 142% higher at 17 weeks, and 215% higher at 39 weeks in the supplemented group, while RBC ARA was 15-18% higher at the same time points; both diets were well…
- Study & population
- Randomized controlled trial in healthy term singleton infants exclusively formula-fed from birth and enrolled at 2 Dallas hospitals.
- Intervention
- Term formula-fed infants received Enfamil with iron either alone or supplemented from enrollment through 52 weeks with DHA (22:6n-3) at 0.36% of total fatty acids and ARA (20:4n-6) at 0.72% of total fatty acids, supplied as single-cell oils (DHASCO and ARASCO).
- Key limitation
- Sample size was modest, and fewer infants completed follow-up than were randomized in each arm.
View source
Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Several studies found a benefit of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCP) supplementation for visual or mental development, but others found no benefit. Likely contributors to differences among studies are the amount of LCP supplementation, functional outcomes, and sample size. OBJECTIVE We evaluated LCP supplementation in amounts typical for human milk (based on local and worldwide surveys) in a large cohort of infants by using sweep visual evoked potential (VEP) acuity as the functional outcome. DESIGN The study was a double-masked, randomized, controlled clinical trial in 103 term infants. By age 5 d, infants were randomly assigned to receive either formula with no docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) or arachidonic acid (ARA) or formula supplemented with DHA and ARA as 0.36% and 0.72%, respectively, of total fatty acids. Sweep VEP acuity was the primary outcome. Random dot stereoacuity, blood lipid profile, growth, and tolerance were secondary outcomes. RESULTS VEP acuity in the LCP-supplemented group was significantly better than that in the control group at ages 6, 17, 26, and 52 wk. Stereoacuity in the LCP-supplemented group was significantly better than that in the control group at age 17 wk but not at ages 39 and 52 wk. By ages 17 and 39 wk, the red blood cell DHA concentration in the LCP-supplemented group was more than double and more than triple, respectively, that in the control group. Growth of infants fed LCP-supplemented and control formulas did not differ significantly, and both diets were well tolerated. CONCLUSION LCP supplementation of term infant formula during the first year of life yields clear differences in visual function and in total red blood cell lipid composition.