LONG-CHAIN POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS (LCPUFA) STATUS AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH INFANT DEVELOPMENT: EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT DEVELOPMENTAL AREAS IN A 24-MONTH FOLLOW-UP STUDY.

Abstract

Background. Previous studies have shown an association between the diet-related LCPUFA status of infants and the performance at both neurophysiological visual assessments and global developmental tests. Aims. To measure the performance in the different developmental areas of the Brunet-Lezine's test in a population of healthy term infants fed different diets in infancy and followed up to 24 months of life. Methods. Subjects: Ninety infants randomly assigned at birth to three different dietary groups (HM, human milk, n=30; F1, standard formula, n=31; F2, LCPUFA-enriched formula, n=29) for the first four months. Evaluation of gross motor function, eye-hand coordination, speech and social function by means of the Brunet-Lezine's scale at 4 (n=86), 12 (n=81) and 24 (n=81) months of age. Fatty acid analysis of plasma phospholipids (PL) and erythrocyte lipids at 4 months (n= 57) and of erythrocyte phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) at 24 months (n=20): high-resolution gas-capillary gas-chromatography. Statistics: ANOVA and Pearson's r (SPSS PC+ statistical package). Results. At 4 months the LCPUFA-fed infants (HM and F2) scored significantly higher at the eye-hand coordination area (F=6.8, p=0.001). No further between-group differences in the four developmental areas were found at 4, 12 and 24 months. At 4 months associations were found between erythrocyte 22:6n-3 (positive, r = 0.43), erythrocyte 18:2 n-6 (negative, r = - 0.29), 20:4n-6 in plasma PL (positive, r = 0.51) and the eye-hand coordination score. At 24 months PC 20:4 n-6 and PC 22:6 n-3 were found positively associated with both the eye-hand coordination and the social function scores, irrespective of the early type of diet. No associations between the 4-month LCPUFA status and later developmental performances were found. Conclusions. These results support the hypothesis that the observed associations between the LCPUFA status and the developmental quotient could be mainly due to that area of infant development connected with the visual function.