FADS2 polymorphisms modify the effect of breastfeeding on child IQ
Colin D Steer1, George Davey Smith, Pauline M Emmett
1Centre for Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Community Based Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK. Colin.Steer@bristol.ac.uk
Background:
Breastfeeding is important for child cognitive development. A study by Caspi et al has suggested that rs174575 within the FADS2 gene moderates this effect so that children homozygous in the minor allele (GG genotype) have similar IQs irrespective of feeding method.
Methods And Principal Findings:
In our study of 5934 children aged 8 years, no genetic main effect with IQ was found for rs174575. However, an interaction with this polymorphism was observed such that breastfed GG children performed better than their formula fed counterparts by an additional 5.8 points [1.4, 10.1] (interaction p = 0.0091). Interaction results were attenuated by about 10% after adjustment for 7 factors. This study also investigated rs1535, another FADS2 polymorphism in linkage disequilibrium with rs174575, together with performance and verbal IQ, finding similar results although effect sizes were generally reduced.
Conclusions And Significance:
This study did not replicate the findings of Caspi et al. In contrast to their study, GG children exhibited the greatest difference between feeding methods such that breastfed children performed similarly irrespective of child genotype whereas formula fed GG children performed worse than other children on formula milk. Further studies are required to replicate these findings.
More Related Videos
03:19Modifying Levels of Maternal Dietary Folic Acid or Choline to Study the Impact of Deficiencies on Offspring Health Outcomes
Published on: June 28, 2024
11:57Studying Protein Function and the Role of Altered Protein Expression by Antibody Interference and Three-dimensional Reconstructions
Published on: April 21, 2016
Related Concept Videos
Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Biological Influences on Intelligence
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
