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Human milk 3'-Sialyllactose is positively associated with language development during infancy
Seoyoon Cho1, Ziliang Zhu1, Tengfei Li2,3
1Department of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|May 21, 2021
Summary
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) like Alpha-Tetrasaccharide (A-tetra) show genetic links. Higher 3'-sialyllactose (3'-SL) in A-tetra positive milk correlates with better cognitive and language development in infants.
Area of Science:
- Human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) research
- Infant cognitive development
- Human genetics and milk composition
Background:
- Human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) composition varies due to genetic polymorphisms.
- Alpha-Tetrasaccharide (A-tetra), an HMO, is present in human milk (HM) of women with blood type A (A-tetra+) but absent in others (A-tetra-).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between HMO concentrations and cognitive development in children under 25 months.
- To determine if these associations differ between A-tetra+ and A-tetra- groups.
Main Methods:
- Enrolled 99 mother-child dyads with children aged 2-25 months, assessing cognitive development using the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL).
- Analyzed 183 HM samples, stratifying children into A-tetra+ and A-tetra- groups.
- Employed linear mixed effects models to assess associations between HMO concentrations and MSEL scores.
Main Results:
- No overall association between HMOs and MSEL scores when all samples were combined.
- In the A-tetra+ group, 3 -sialyllactose (3 -SL) levels positively correlated with the MSEL composite score (P=0.002).
- This association was significant for receptive (P=0.015) and expressive (P=0.048) language subdomains, with an interaction between 3 -SL and age for receptive language (P=0.03).
Conclusions:
- 3 -sialyllactose (3 -SL) is associated with enhanced cognitive and language development in infants receiving human milk containing A-tetra.
- These findings highlight the role of specific HMOs in early childhood development.
Keywords:
Mullen Scales of Early Learningbreastfed infantsearly cognitive developmenthuman milkhuman milk oligosaccharideslanguagerandom linear mixed effects modelsialyllactoseMore Related Videos
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