Effects of Maternal Fish Oil And/or 5-Methyl-Tetrahydrofolate Supplementation During Pregnancy on Offspring Brain Resting-State at 10 Years Old: A Follow-Up Study from the NUHEAL Randomized Controlled Trial

Overview

Journal Nutrients

Date 2020 Sep 9

PMID 32899673

Citations 5

Authors

Hatim Azaryah

Juan Verdejo-Roman

Cristina Martin-Perez

Jose Antonio Garcia-Santos

Cristina Martinez-Zaldivar

Francisco J Torres-Espinola

Daniel Campos

Berthold Koletzko

Miguel Perez-Garcia

Andres Catena

Cristina Campoy

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Recent studies have shown that maternal supplementation with folate and long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) during pregnancy may affect children's brain development. We aimed at examining the potential long-term effect of maternal supplementation with fish oil (FO) and/or 5-methyl-tetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) on the brain functionality of offspring at the age of 9.5-10 years. The current study was conducted as a follow-up of the Spanish participants belonging to the Nutraceuticals for a Healthier Life (NUHEAL) project; 57 children were divided into groups according to mother's supplementation and assessed through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning and neurodevelopment testing. Independent component analysis and double regression methods were implemented to investigate plausible associations. Children born to mothers supplemented with FO (FO and FO + 5-MTHF groups, = 33) showed weaker functional connectivity in the default mode (DM) (angular gyrus), the sensorimotor (SM) (motor and somatosensory cortices) and the fronto-parietal (FP) (angular gyrus) networks compared to the No-FO group (placebo and 5-MTHF groups, = 24) (P < 0.05). Furthermore, no differences were found regarding the neuropsychological tests, except for a trend of better results in an object recall (memory) test. Considering the No-FO group, the aforementioned networks were associated negatively with attention and speed-processing functions. Mother's FO supplementation during pregnancy seems to be able to shape resting-state network functioning in their children at school age and appears to produce long-term effects on children´s cognitive processing.

Citing Articles

Maternal Nutrition during Pregnancy and Offspring Brain Development: Insights from Neuroimaging.

Na X, Mackean P, Cape G, Johnson J, Ou X Nutrients. 2024; 16(19).

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Supplementation with Folic Acid or 5-Methyltetrahydrofolate and Prevention of Neural Tube Defects: An Evidence-Based Narrative Review.

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