The impact of consuming fish-oil supplementation during perinatal period on physical growth and neurodevelopment of 9 and 12 months old infants: follow-up study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fish oil supplementation on children's physical growth and neurodevelopment at 9 and 12 months of age. Materials and Methods: This study is a follow-up of the clinical trial of triple blinded. Study population comprised the 9-month-old infants born from pregnant women aged 18-35 years with the first to fifth pregnancies had a family case in the health centers of Tabriz, which randomly received an omega-3 or placebo capsule. Consumption of fish oil capsules (1000 mg containing 120 mg of Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and 180 mg of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)) and placebo (same shape, size and weight with other capsules) once a day from the end of the 20th week of pregnancy to 1 month after the delivery lasted for about 24 weeks (168 capsules). Infants' anthropometric indicators were evaluated at 9 and 12 months and neural development at 12 months by the Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ). Results: 150 pregnant women recruited in the study. The results showed that consuming fish oil had no statistically significant effect on the profile of fatty acids except DHA, growth parameters (height, weight and head circumference), and neurodevelopmental domains based on ASQ at 12 months of age. Comparison of DHA changes after intervention was significantly different. Also, in the present study, the neurodevelopmental disorders was observed in 1 case (2%) from the intervention group and 2 cases (4.1%) from the placebo group, but no significant statistical difference was observed between the two groups (p = 0.05).