DHA and Mental Health

A recent study published in JAMA found a DHA dose of approximately 1 percent total fatty acids in early life did not increase Mental Development Index (MDI) scores of preterm infants overall born earlier than 33 weeks but did improve the MDI scores of girls (2009;301(2):175-82). The randomized, double blind, controlled trial fed high-docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; approximately 1 percent total fatty acids) or a standard DHA (approximately 0.3 percent total fatty acids) from day two to four of infants born at less than 33 weeks' gestation from April 2001 to October 2005 until term corrected age.

Of the 657 infants enrolled, 93.5 percent completed the 18-month follow-up. Bayley MDI scores did not differ between the high- and standard-DHA groups. The MDI among girls fed the high-DHA diet was higher than girls fed standard DHA in unadjusted and adjusted analyses. The MDI among boys did not differ between groups. For infants born weighing less than 1,250 g, the MDI in the high-DHA group was higher than with standard DHA in the unadjusted comparison but did not reach statistical significance following adjustment for gestational age, sex, maternal education and birth order. The MDI among infants born weighing at least 1,250 g did not differ between groups.