Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2015 Jun;16(4):271-9.
doi: 10.1111/pedi.12170. Epub 2014 Jul 12.

Effect of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on inflammatory cytokine levels in infants at high genetic risk for type 1 diabetes

H Peter Chase  1 , David Boulware, Henry Rodriguez, David Donaldson, Sonia Chritton, Lisa Rafkin-Mervis, Jeffrey Krischer, Jay S Skyler, Michael Clare-Salzler; Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Nutritional Intervention to Prevent (NIP) Type 1 Diabetes Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of docosahexaenoic acid supplementation on inflammatory cytokine levels in infants at high genetic risk for type 1 diabetes

H Peter Chase et al. Pediatr Diabetes. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from the inflammatory destruction of pancreatic β-cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation on stimulated inflammatory cytokine production in white blood cells (WBC) from infants with a high genetic risk for T1D.

Research design and methods: This was a multicenter, two-arm, randomized, double-blind pilot trial of DHA supplementation, beginning either in the last trimester of pregnancy (41 infants) or in the first 5 months after birth (57 infants). Levels of DHA in infant and maternal red blood cell (RBC) membranes and in breast milk were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Inflammatory cytokines were assayed from whole blood culture supernatants using the Luminex multiplex assay after stimulation with high dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 1 µg/mL.

Results: The levels of RBC DHA were increased by 61-100% in treated compared to control infants at ages 6-36 months. There were no statistically significant reductions in production of the inflammatory cytokines, IL-1β, TNFα, or IL-12p40 at any of the six timepoints measured. The inflammatory marker, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), was significantly lower in breast-fed DHA-treated infants compared to all formula-fed infants at the age of 12 months. Three infants (two received DHA) were removed from the study as a result of developing ≥two persistently positive biochemical islet autoantibodies.

Conclusions: This pilot trial showed that supplementation of infant diets with DHA is safe and fulfilled the pre-study goal of increasing infant RBC DHA levels by at least 20%. Inflammatory cytokine production was not consistently reduced.

Keywords: breast milk DHA; cytokines; docosahexaenoic acid (DHA); red blood cell DHA; type 1 diabetes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest were reported by any co-investigators.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow Chart of Study Design.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Breast milk DHA levels
Figure 2a: Breast milk DHA levels in Group A mothers (who entered the trial in the last trimester of pregnancy). Insufficient mothers were still nursing at 12 months so a value is not provided. Values were significantly different (P<0.01) at 0 and 3 months (when adequate samples were available for analysis). Figure 2b: Breast milk DHA levels in Group B mothers, with infants entering the trial anytime between birth and the fifth post-natal month. Zero-time reflects the enrollment time, with all infants then studied at age 6 months. Values were significantly different (P<0.01) at 6, and 9 months. Inadequate control samples were available at 12 months for statistical analysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Breast milk DHA levels
Figure 2a: Breast milk DHA levels in Group A mothers (who entered the trial in the last trimester of pregnancy). Insufficient mothers were still nursing at 12 months so a value is not provided. Values were significantly different (P<0.01) at 0 and 3 months (when adequate samples were available for analysis). Figure 2b: Breast milk DHA levels in Group B mothers, with infants entering the trial anytime between birth and the fifth post-natal month. Zero-time reflects the enrollment time, with all infants then studied at age 6 months. Values were significantly different (P<0.01) at 6, and 9 months. Inadequate control samples were available at 12 months for statistical analysis.
Figure 3
Figure 3. RBC membrane DHA levels
Infant RBC membrane DHA levels (mg/dL) were higher for all treatment infants compared to all control infants (P<0.001 for all comparisons except at age 30 months [P<0.01]). Data in Table 4, Appendix.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Green A, Patterson CC. Trends in the incidence of childhood-onset diabetes in Europe 1989–1998. Diabetologia. 2001 Oct;44(Suppl 3):B3–B8. - PubMed
    1. Hummel K, McFann KK, Realsen J, Messer LH, Klingensmith GJ, Chase HP. The increasing onset of type 1 diabetes in children. J Pediatr. 2012 Oct;161(4):652–7. - PubMed
    1. Onkamo P, Vaananen S, Karvonen M, Tuomilehto J. Worldwide increase in incidence of Type I diabetes–the analysis of the data on published incidence trends. Diabetologia. 1999 Dec;42(12):1395–403. - PubMed
    1. Knip M, Virtanen SM, Akerblom HK. Infant feeding and the risk of type 1 diabetes. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 May;91(5):1506S–13S. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Verge CF, Gianani R, Kawasaki E, Yu L, Pietropaolo M, Jackson RA, Chase HP, Eisenbarth GS. Prediction of type I diabetes in first-degree relatives using a combination of insulin, GAD, and ICA512bdc/IA-2 autoantibodies. Diabetes. 1996 Jul;45(7):926–33. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms