Early behavior and development are influenced by the n-6 and n-3 status in prematures

Abstract

In a cohort of premature infants, consecutively included in the study at birth and followed to 18 months of age, the neonatal status of essential fatty acids and longchain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) were investigated and correlated to the development at 40 and 44 weeks gestational age and at 3, 6, 10 and 18 months corrected age. The diet reported by the mothers contained low EFA, 98% had an intake ) of the developmental scores. This was only an observational study, and it cannot be excluded that the highly negative influence of n- 6 fatty acids was an effect of the low intake of n-3 fatty acids, which in the context of the changes generally seen in Western diet imply urgent need for larger studies.