Prenatal Folate and Choline Levels and Brain and Cognitive Development in Children: A Critical Narrative Review.

Catherine J. Field,Deborah Dewey,Fariba Aghajafari,Nathalie Irvine,Gillian England-Mason

doi:10.3390/nu14020364

Catherine J. Field, Deborah Dewey + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14020364

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Abstract

Women’s nutritional status during pregnancy can have long-term effects on children’s brains and cognitive development. Folate and choline are methyl-donor nutrients and are important for closure of the neural tube during fetal development. They have also been associated with brain and cognitive development in children. Animal studies have observed that prenatal folate and choline supplementation is associated with better cognitive outcomes in offspring and that these nutrients may have interactive effects on brain development. Although some human studies have reported associations between maternal folate and choline levels and child cognitive outcomes, results are not consistent, and no human studies have investigated the potential interactive effects of folate and choline. This lack of consistency could be due to differences in the methods used to assess folate and choline levels, the gestational trimester at which they were measured, and lack of consideration of potential confounding variables. This narrative review discusses and critically reviews current research examining the associations between maternal levels of folate and choline during pregnancy and brain and cognitive development in children. Directions for future research that will increase our understanding of the effects of these nutrients on children’s neurodevelopment are discussed.

Highlights

A mother’s nutritional status, as defined by the intake and utilization of nutrients during pregnancy has a significant effect on the development of the fetal brain and subsequent cognitive outcomes later in life [1]
Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR)-deficient male mice 20 female mice per group. 4 males and 4 females/litter were retained for initial behavioral testing. 1 male and 1 female pup/litter were used in postweaning behavioral testing
Choline supplementation in pregnant rats facilitates temporal memory and accelerates the maturation of relational cue processing in offspring [51,98]. These findings suggest that choline supplementation during pregnancy may be predictive of better cognitive function in offspring, offspring memory

Summary

Introduction

A mother’s nutritional status, as defined by the intake and utilization of nutrients during pregnancy has a significant effect on the development of the fetal brain and subsequent cognitive outcomes later in life [1]. Maternal intake and utilization of nutrients provide the essential building blocks to support numerous cellular processes during fetal development, including cellular proliferation, DNA synthesis, and neurotransmitter and hormone metabolism [9,10,11,12]. Some nutrients, such as iron and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, enable axon myelination, synaptogenesis, and neurotransmitter transmission [9,12]. The availability of nutrients to the developing fetus is likely to have long-lasting impacts on both the physical development of the brain as well as children’s cognitive development

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