Prenatal Supplementation with Docosahexaenoic Acid Has No Effect on Growth through 60 Months of Age

Abstract

Background: Prenatal supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) has been shown to increase birth size, but it is unclear whether these differences translate into improved postnatal growth.

Objective: We assessed the effect of prenatal supplementation with DHA on offspring weight, length, and body mass index (BMI) through 60 mo of age.

Methods: We examined growth patterns (height, weight, and BMI) in a cohort of 802 Mexican children whose mothers participated in a randomized, controlled trial of daily supplementation with 400 mg/d of DHA or a placebo from week 18-22 of gestation through delivery, with the use of a longitudinal multilevel model of growth.

Results: Overall, means ± SDs of height-, weight-, and BMI-for-age z scores relative to WHO growth standards at 60 mo were -0.49 ± 0.91, -1.15 ± 1.07 and 0.13 ± 1.11, respectively. There were no significant differences by treatment group (all P > 0.05) for height, weight, or BMI at any age through 60 mo. Similarly, DHA did not affect the average growth or the trajectories for these measures through 60 mo.

Conclusion: Prenatal DHA supplementation did not affect height, weight, or BMI through 60 mo of age. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00646360.

Keywords: child development; child growth; docosahexaenoic acid; maternal and child health; polyunsaturated fatty acids; prenatal supplementation.

Conflict of interest statement

Author disclosures: I Gonzalez-Casanova, AD Stein, W Hao, R Garcia-Feregrino, A Barraza-Villarreal, I Romieu, JA Rivera , R Martorell, and U Ramakrishnan, no conflicts of interest.

© 2015 American Society for Nutrition.

Figures

FIGURE 1

Flowchart of POSGRAD (Prenatal Omega-3 fatty acid Supplements, GRowth, And Development) study through 60 mo of age.

FIGURE 2

Difference in HAZ among children born to women who participated in a trial of DHA supplementation during pregnancy and followed through 60 mo of age, by treatment assignment and maternal gravidity. Data are differences attributable to DHA and 95% CIs and are adjusted for maternal height and age at measurement. *P < 0.05. Sample sizes range between 968 (486 in the DHA group and 482 in the placebo group) at birth and 355 (183 in the DHA group and 172 in the placebo group) at the 38 mo contact. The sample size at 5 y of age was 802 (183 in the DHA group and 172 in the placebo group) (see Supplemental Table 1). HAZ, height-for-age z score.