Breast milk EPA associated with infant distractibility when EPA level is low

Keyu Jia; Yao Feng; J Thomas Brenna; Zhong-Cheng Luo; Jing Zhao; Hong Li; Peiqin Li; Qiuyi Zhang; Qianyu Zhao; Qi Dai; Yan Zhong; Tim Lambers; Hong Zhang; Hong Zhou; Ying Gao

doi:10.1016/j.nut.2021.111143

Breast milk EPA associated with infant distractibility when EPA level is low

Nutrition. 2021 Jun:86:111143. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2021.111143. Epub 2021 Jan 11.

Authors

Keyu Jia¹, Yao Feng², J Thomas Brenna³, Zhong-Cheng Luo⁴, Jing Zhao¹, Hong Li⁵, Peiqin Li¹, Qiuyi Zhang¹, Qianyu Zhao¹, Qi Dai¹, Yan Zhong⁶, Tim Lambers⁶, Hong Zhang⁷, Hong Zhou⁸, Ying Gao⁹

Affiliations

¹ Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Food Safety, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
² National Institute of Health Data Science at Peking University, Beijing, China; Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.
³ Departments of Pediatrics, Chemistry, and Human Nutrition, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.
⁴ Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mount Sinai Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
⁵ Core Facility of Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
⁶ Mead Johnson Pediatric Nutrition Institute, Shanghai, China/Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
⁷ Department of Statistics and Finance, School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.
⁸ Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁹ Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Food Safety, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 33601118
DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2021.111143

Abstract

Objectives: Dietary ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) may affect infants' executive function (EF), although it remains unclear whether this may be the effect of total ω-3 PUFAs or any specific ω-3 PUFA. We assessed the associations between ω-3 PUFAs in breast milk and EF in infants at 8 mo of age.

Methods: Milk samples from the mothers of 120 breast-fed infants were collected at 42 d and 8 mo postpartum in Beijing, China. Infant's EF was evaluated by planning tasks and A-not-B tasks, including working memory, distractibility, and inhibition of prepotent response at age 8 mo.

Results: Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations in breast milk were significantly higher at 42 d than 8 mo postpartum. Breast milk EPA levels at both 42 d (P = 0.037) and 8 mo (P = 0.005) postpartum were negatively associated with infant distractibility when EPA levels were low (< 0.05%). No significant association was observed for other ω-3 PUFAs with infant EF scores.

Conclusions: Our results suggest a beneficial effect of higher EPA in breast milk (improving infant's attention) when its levels are below a certain threshold.

Keywords: Breast milk; Distractibility; Eicosapentaenoic acid; Executive function; docosahexaenoic acid.

MeSH terms

Beijing
Child
China
Docosahexaenoic Acids
Eicosapentaenoic Acid
Fatty Acids, Omega-3*
Female
Humans
Infant
Milk, Human*

Substances

Fatty Acids, Omega-3
Docosahexaenoic Acids
Eicosapentaenoic Acid