Polyunsaturated fatty acid deficiency and pediatric neuropsychiatric morbidity

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Child morbidity and disability is a national problem in any country, and measures to reduce it are the priority for every society. Recent years, children’s diseases such as neuropsychiatric diseases, (24,3%), nervous system diseases (22.9%); congenital anomalies (malformations), deformations and chromosomal disorders (16.2%). The absolute value of disabled children with nervous system diseases as of January 1, 2020 was 157,727. At all stages of the nervous system formation, the process of cell membranes formation, covering both glial cells and neurons themselves (and their branches - dendrites and axons), progresses actively. Cell membranes consist mainly of phospholipids, which are synthesized from long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids coming from food. In an attempt to determine the reasons for the growing disability of the child population, the researchers drew attention to the changed nature of the nutrition of society in general and the child population in particular over the past century. One of the significant components of the diet that affects the formation and development of the nervous system and the mental sphere were polyunsaturated fatty acids, some of which, with an unbalanced diet, can’t be obtained by the body from sources alternative to food. In this review, we observe the experience of correcting the nutritional status of young children and pregnant and lactating women with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Numerous studies have confirmed the fact that there is a relationship between omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids deficiency, neurological deficiency and reduced intellectual abilities of a child.