Exclusive human milk diet is associated with lower risk of motor function impairment at three years of corrected age

Area of Science:

• Neonatology
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Infants born before 32 weeks gestation are at high risk for developmental delays.
• Motor function impairment is a common neurodevelopmental outcome in extremely preterm infants.
• The role of nutrition, specifically exclusive human milk diet (EHMD), in mitigating these risks requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the association between an exclusive human milk diet (EHMD) and motor function impairment.
• To assess outcomes at three years of corrected age in infants born before 32 weeks of gestation.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study (2018-2021) involving infants born before 32 weeks gestation.
• EHMD group defined as receiving EHMD for ≥75% of days between diet fortification and 33 6/7 weeks postmenstrual age.
• Inverse propensity score weighting and mixed-effects logistic regression were used to analyze the association, controlling for confounders.

Main Results:

• An exclusive human milk diet (EHMD) was associated with a reduced risk of motor function impairment.
• The adjusted odds ratio for motor function impairment was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.56-0.98, p=0.036).
• This association remained significant after adjusting for demographic factors and common neonatal morbidities.

Conclusions:

• An exclusive human milk diet (EHMD) is associated with a statistically significant decrease in the odds of early childhood motor function impairment.
• These findings support the promotion of EHMD in extremely preterm infants to potentially improve neurodevelopmental outcomes.
• Further research could explore the specific mechanisms by which EHMD influences motor development in this vulnerable population.