Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake estimated from a 7-question survey identifies pregnancies most likely to benefit from high-dose DHA supplementation.

Background: Two randomized trials found women with low blood docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; an omega 3 fatty acid) had fewer early preterm births (<34 weeks gestation) if they were assigned to high dose DHA supplementation, however, there is currently no capacity for clinicians who care for pregnancies to obtain a blood assessment of DHA. Determining a way to identify women with low DHA intake whose risk could be lowered by high dose DHA supplementation is desired.
Objective: To determine if assessing DHA intake can identify pregnancies that benefit from high dose DHA supplementation.
Study Design: This secondary analysis used birth data from 1310 pregnant women who completed a 7-question food frequency questionnaire (DHA-FFQ) at 16.8 ± 2.5 weeks gestation that is validated to assess DHA status. They were then randomly assigned to a standard (200 mg/day) or high dose (800 or 1000 mg/day) DHA supplement for the remainder of pregnancy. Bayesian logistic regressions were fitted for early preterm birth and preterm birth as a function of DHA intake and assigned DHA dose.
Results: Participants who consumed less than 150 mg/day DHA prior to 20 weeks' gestation (n = 810/1310, 58.1%) had a lower Bayesian posterior probability (pp) of early preterm birth if they were assigned to high dose DHA supplementation (1.4% vs 3.9%, pp = 0.99). The effect on preterm birth (<37 weeks) was also significant (11.3% vs 14.8%, pp = 0.97).
Conclusion: The DHA-FFQ can identify pregnancies that will benefit most from high dose DHA supplementation and reduce the risk of preterm birth. The DHA-FFQ is low burden to providers and patients and could be easily implemented in obstetrical practice.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest SEC has received honorariums for presentations about DHA in infancy and pregnancy. KMG was the PI of R01HD086001. SEC, BJG and CJV were PIs of R01HD083292, CJV was an employee of RB Nutrition, which produces infant formulas and supplements with DHA at the time the study was conducted, however, RB was not involved in the study execution or analysis. She conducted this study through her role as an Adjunct Professor at The University of Cincinnati. The other authors have no competing interests.
(Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)