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Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament

There is growing evidence that omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty-acids (PUFAs) are important for the brain development in childhood and are necessary for an optimal health in adults. However, there have been no studies examining how the n-3 PUFA composition of human milk influences infant behavior...

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Autores principales: Hahn-Holbrook, Jennifer, Fish, Adi, Glynn, Laura M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2019
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6949911/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31817237
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu11122964
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author Hahn-Holbrook, Jennifer
Fish, Adi
Glynn, Laura M.
author_facet Hahn-Holbrook, Jennifer
Fish, Adi
Glynn, Laura M.
author_sort Hahn-Holbrook, Jennifer
collection PubMed
description There is growing evidence that omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty-acids (PUFAs) are important for the brain development in childhood and are necessary for an optimal health in adults. However, there have been no studies examining how the n-3 PUFA composition of human milk influences infant behavior or temperament. To fill this knowledge gap, 52 breastfeeding mothers provided milk samples at 3 months postpartum and completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ-R), a widely used parent-report measure of infant temperament. Milk was assessed for n-3 PUFAs and omega-6 (n-6) PUFAs using gas-liquid chromatography. The total fat and the ratio of n-6/n-3 fatty acids in milk were also examined. Linear regression models revealed that infants whose mothers’ milk was richer in n-3 PUFAs had lower scores on the negative affectivity domain of the IBQ-R, a component of temperament associated with a risk for internalizing disorders later in life. These associations remained statistically significant after considering covariates, including maternal age, marital status, and infant birth weight. The n-6 PUFAs, n-6/n-3 ratio, and total fat of milk were not associated with infant temperament. These results suggest that mothers may have the ability to shape the behavior of their offspring by adjusting the n-3 PUFA composition of their milk.
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spelling pubmed-69499112020-01-16 Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament Hahn-Holbrook, Jennifer Fish, Adi Glynn, Laura M. Nutrients Article There is growing evidence that omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty-acids (PUFAs) are important for the brain development in childhood and are necessary for an optimal health in adults. However, there have been no studies examining how the n-3 PUFA composition of human milk influences infant behavior or temperament. To fill this knowledge gap, 52 breastfeeding mothers provided milk samples at 3 months postpartum and completed the Infant Behavior Questionnaire (IBQ-R), a widely used parent-report measure of infant temperament. Milk was assessed for n-3 PUFAs and omega-6 (n-6) PUFAs using gas-liquid chromatography. The total fat and the ratio of n-6/n-3 fatty acids in milk were also examined. Linear regression models revealed that infants whose mothers’ milk was richer in n-3 PUFAs had lower scores on the negative affectivity domain of the IBQ-R, a component of temperament associated with a risk for internalizing disorders later in life. These associations remained statistically significant after considering covariates, including maternal age, marital status, and infant birth weight. The n-6 PUFAs, n-6/n-3 ratio, and total fat of milk were not associated with infant temperament. These results suggest that mothers may have the ability to shape the behavior of their offspring by adjusting the n-3 PUFA composition of their milk. MDPI 2019-12-04 /pmc/articles/PMC6949911/ /pubmed/31817237 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu11122964 Text en © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hahn-Holbrook, Jennifer
Fish, Adi
Glynn, Laura M.
Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament
title Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament
title_full Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament
title_fullStr Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament
title_full_unstemmed Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament
title_short Human Milk Omega-3 Fatty Acid Composition Is Associated with Infant Temperament
title_sort human milk omega-3 fatty acid composition is associated with infant temperament
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6949911/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31817237
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu11122964
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