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Updated: May 10, 2026

Milk Collection in the Rat Using Capillary Tubes and Estimation of Milk Fat Content by Creamatocrit
Published on: December 16, 2015
Maternal milk DHA content predicts cognitive performance in a sample of 28 nations
William Day Lassek1, Steven J C Gaulin2
1Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Abstract:
Convergent evidence from neuronal biology and hominin brain hypertrophy suggests that omega-3 fatty acids are a limiting resource for neural and cognitive development in Homo sapiens, and therefore that children from populations with higher omega-3 availability should display superior cognitive performance. Using multiple regression, we tested this prediction in a sample of 28 countries, with Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) math scores in 2009 as an index of cognitive performance, and country-specific breast milk levels of omega-3 docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) as an index of omega-3 availability. Breast milk DHA makes a highly significant contribution to math scores (β = 0.462, P = 0.006), greater in magnitude than the control variables of per capita Gross Domestic Product (PCGDP) and educational expenditures per pupil. Together, dietary fish (positively) and total fat (negatively) explain 61% of the variance in maternal milk DHA in a larger sample of 39 countries.
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