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A dose response randomised controlled trial of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in preterm infants

C T Collins1, T R Sullivan2, A J McPhee3

  • 1Child Nutrition and FOODplus Research Centres, Women׳s and Children׳s Health Research Institute, Flinders Medical Centre, Women׳s and Children׳s Hospital and The University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; Healthy Mothers, Babies and Children, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia; School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, The University of Adelaide, South Australia.

Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes, and Essential Fatty Acids
|May 23, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Supplementing preterm infants with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) via feeding tubes is safe and effectively maintains blood DHA levels. Maternal DHA supplementation also prevented a drop in infant DHA levels.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal nutrition
  • Biochemistry
  • Clinical research

Background:

  • Premature infants, born before 30 weeks gestational age, have unique nutritional needs.
  • Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is crucial for infant development, but levels can drop in preterm infants.
  • Maintaining adequate DHA levels is essential for neurodevelopment and overall health in extremely preterm infants.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the safety and efficacy of different doses of supplementary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in preterm infants.
  • To assess the impact of DHA supplementation on blood DHA and arachidonic acid (AA) levels.
  • To compare the effects of direct infant DHA supplementation versus maternal DHA supplementation.

Main Methods:

  • Randomized controlled trial involving 31 infants receiving 40, 80, or 120 mg/kg/day of DHA emulsion.
  • Non-randomized reference groups included infants with no DHA supplementation (n=11) and maternal DHA supplementation (n=12).
  • DHA emulsion was administered via feeding tube within 4 days of the first enteral feed.

Main Results:

  • All tested DHA emulsion doses were well tolerated, with no adverse effects on feeding progression.
  • Infant blood DHA levels directly correlated with dietary DHA intake.
  • Both direct infant DHA supplementation and maternal DHA supplementation prevented the decline in blood DHA levels observed in the unsupplemented group.

Conclusions:

  • Oral DHA supplementation is safe and effective for maintaining adequate DHA levels in preterm infants.
  • Maternal DHA supplementation also appears beneficial in preventing DHA level drops in preterm infants.
  • Further research may explore optimal DHA dosing strategies for this vulnerable population.

Keywords:
Docosahexaenoic acidDose responseInfantLong chain polyunsaturated fatty acidPremature

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