Maternal fish consumption and child neurodevelopment in Nutrition 1 Cohort: Seychelles Child Development Study

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Neuroscience
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Maternal diet during pregnancy influences fetal development, with fish offering nutrients but also potential neurotoxicants.
• High fish consumption is common in some populations, necessitating an understanding of its neurodevelopmental impact.
• Existing research presents mixed findings on fish intake and child neurodevelopment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between maternal fish consumption and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children.
• To assess potential beneficial or adverse effects of high fish intake during pregnancy on child cognition.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Seychelles Child Development Study Nutrition Cohort 1 (n=229).
• Assessed maternal fish consumption via 4-day food diaries during pregnancy.
• Evaluated child neurodevelopment at multiple ages (9 months, 30 months, 5 years, 9 years) using comprehensive test batteries.
• Employed multiple linear regression, adjusting for known covariates.

Main Results:

• The cohort exhibited high average fish consumption (106.8 g/d, ~8 meals/week).
• A single, marginal beneficial association was found: higher maternal fish intake correlated with slightly better nonverbal intelligence scores at age 5.
• Secondary analyses comparing high vs. low consumption tertiles revealed no significant associations.

Conclusions:

• In a population with substantially high fish consumption, maternal intake during pregnancy was not significantly associated with adverse or beneficial neurodevelopmental outcomes in children.
• The findings suggest that very high fish consumption in this specific cohort did not lead to detectable neurodevelopmental deficits or enhancements.
• Further research may be needed to explore dose-response relationships and effects in populations with lower fish consumption patterns.