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Breast milk EPA associated with infant distractibility when EPA level is low.

Authors :: Jia K
Feng Y
Brenna JT
Luo ZC
Zhao J
Li H
Li P
Zhang Q
Zhao Q
Dai Q
Zhong Y
Lambers T
Zhang H
Zhou H
Gao Y
Source :: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) [Nutrition] 2021 Jun; Vol. 86, pp. 111143. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Jan 11.
Publication Year :: 2021
Abstract: Objectives: Dietary ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFAs) may affect infants' executive function (EF), although it remains unclear whether this may be the effect of total ω-3 PUFAs or any specific ω-3 PUFA. We assessed the associations between ω-3 PUFAs in breast milk and EF in infants at 8 mo of age.<br />Methods: Milk samples from the mothers of 120 breast-fed infants were collected at 42 d and 8 mo postpartum in Beijing, China. Infant's EF was evaluated by planning tasks and A-not-B tasks, including working memory, distractibility, and inhibition of prepotent response at age 8 mo.<br />Results: Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations in breast milk were significantly higher at 42 d than 8 mo postpartum. Breast milk EPA levels at both 42 d (P = 0.037) and 8 mo (P = 0.005) postpartum were negatively associated with infant distractibility when EPA levels were low (< 0.05%). No significant association was observed for other ω-3 PUFAs with infant EF scores.<br />Conclusions: Our results suggest a beneficial effect of higher EPA in breast milk (improving infant's attention) when its levels are below a certain threshold.<br /> (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)