IN TIME: IMPORTANCE OF OMEGA 3 IN CHILDREN'S NUTRITION

Maternal obesity, gestational diabetes mellitus, and diet in association with neurodevelopment of 2-year-old children

BACKGROUND

Maternal metabolic disturbances and diet may influence long-term infantile neurodevelopment. We investigated whether maternal gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), obesity, and diet could affect the neurodevelopment of 2-year-old children.

METHODS

Neurodevelopment of children (n = 243) born to mothers with overweight or obesity was assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition, and the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination. Maternal adiposity was determined by air displacement plethysmography, and GDM with an oral glucose tolerance test. Dietary assessment included diet quality and fish consumption questionnaires, and three-day food diaries, from which dietary inflammatory index (DII^®) scores were computed.

RESULTS

GDM was associated with weaker expressive language skills (adj.β = -1.12, 95% CI = -2.10;-0.15), and higher maternal adiposity with weaker cognitive, language, and motor skills in children (adj.p < 0.05). Maternal good dietary quality (adj.β = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.004;1.73) and higher fish consumption (adj.p = 0.02) were related to better expressive language skills. DII scores were not associated with children's neurodevelopment.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that GDM and higher maternal adiposity may lead to weaker neurodevelopmental skills, although still within the mean normative range in this population of children. Good dietary quality and higher fish consumption during pregnancy could benefit a child's language development.

IMPACT

Gestational diabetes mellitus and maternal higher adiposity may have unfavorable effects on a 2-year-old child's neurodevelopment. An overall good quality of diet and higher fish consumption during pregnancy may result in more favorable cognitive and language skills when the child is 2-year-old. Our findings reveal that women with overweight or obesity, a risk group for pregnancy complications, could benefit from dietary counseling to support their children's neurodevelopment.

Perinatal Dietary Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Brain Development, Role in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are essential fatty acids that are provided by dietary intake. Growing evidence suggests that n-3 and n-6 PUFAs are paramount for brain functions. They constitute crucial elements of cellular membranes, especially in the brain. They are the precursors of several metabolites with different effects on inflammation and neuron outgrowth. Overall, long-chain PUFAs accumulate in the offspring brain during the embryonic and post-natal periods. In this review, we discuss how they accumulate in the developing brain, considering the maternal dietary supply, the polymorphisms of genes involved in their metabolism, and the differences linked to gender. We also report the mechanisms linking their bioavailability in the developing brain, their transfer from the mother to the embryo through the placenta, and their role in brain development. In addition, data on the potential role of altered bioavailability of long-chain n-3 PUFAs in the etiologies of neurodevelopmental diseases, such as autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia, are reviewed.

Whole-grain intake and its inverse relationships with fatty acids intake among multiethnic Malaysian schoolchildren

INTRODUCTION

Little is known about the relationship of whole-grain intake with dietary fatty acids intake. The present study aimed to assess the whole-grain intake and its relationships with dietary fatty acids intake among multiethnic schoolchildren in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 392 schoolchildren aged 9-11 years, cluster sampled from five randomly selected schools in Kuala Lumpur. Whole-grain and fatty acids intakes were assessed by 3-day, 24-h diet recalls. All whole-grain foods were considered irrespective of the amount of whole grain they contained.

RESULTS

In total, 55.6% (n = 218) were whole-grain consumers. Mean (SD) daily intake of whole grain in the total sample was 5.13 (9.75) g day^-1 . In the whole-grain consumer's only sample, mean (SD) intakes reached 9.23 (11.55) g day^-1 . Significant inverse associations were found between whole-grain intake and saturated fatty acid (SAFA) intake (r = -0.357; P < 0.001), monosaturated fatty acid (MUFA) (r = -0.373; P < 0.001) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) (r = -0.307; P < 0.001) intake. Furthermore, whole-grain intake was a significant predictor of SAFA (β = -0.077; P = 0.004), MUFA (β = -0.112; P = <0.001) and PUFA (β = -0.202; P = <0.001) intakes, after controlling for sex, age and ethnicity.

CONCLUSIONS

Whole-grain intake in Malaysia was well below recommendations. Schoolchildren who consumed higher whole grain tend to reduce fat intake; however, it would also reduce the SAFA, MUFA and PUFA intakes. Future collaboration may be conducted between industry, government and universities to promote unsaturated fatty acids-rich foods and whole-grain food, although not to promote processed whole-grain foods with a high sugar and salt content.

Associations of plasma total phospholipid fatty acid patterns with feeding practices, growth, and psychomotor development in 6-month-old South African infants

The objective of this study was to assess plasma fatty acid (FA) patterns of 6-month-old South African infants and to determine their association with feeding practices, growth, and psychomotor development. Plasma total phospholipid FA composition (% of total FAs) of 6-month-old infants (n = 353) from a peri-urban township was analysed, and principal component and factor analysis were performed to identify plasma FA patterns. Feeding practices, anthropometric measurements, and psychomotor development scores were determined. Four major plasma phospholipid FA patterns were identified: A plant-based C18 FA, a high n-6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA), a C16:1 and long-chain saturated fatty acid (SFA), and a high n-3 and low n-6 LCPUFA pattern. Formula feeding was associated with higher, whereas breastfeeding was associated with lower scores for the plant-based C18 FA and C16:1 and long-chain SFA patterns. On the other hand, breastfeeding, the consumption of cow's milk, and the consumption of semisolid foods were associated with higher scores, whereas formula feeding was associated with lower scores for the high n-6 LCPUFA pattern. Breastfeeding and the consumption of semisolids were also associated with higher high n-3 and low n-6 LCPUFA pattern scores. The C16:1 and long-chain SFA and high n-3 and low n-6 LCPUFA patterns were positively associated with psychomotor development scores. In 6-month-old South African infants, we identified distinct plasma FA patterns that presumably represent the FA quality of their diet and that are associated with psychomotor development. Our results suggest that breast milk is an important source of n-6 LCPUFAs and formula-fed infants may be at risk of inadequate LCPUFA intake.