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. 2024 Feb 28;16(5):687.
doi: 10.3390/nu16050687.

The Maternal Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Concentration in Early Pregnancy and Infant Neurodevelopment: The ECLIPSES Study

Behnaz Shahabi  1   2 , Carmen Hernández-Martínez  1   2   3 , Núria Voltas  1   2   3   4 , Josefa Canals  1   2   3 , Victoria Arija  1   2
Affiliations

The Maternal Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Concentration in Early Pregnancy and Infant Neurodevelopment: The ECLIPSES Study

Behnaz Shahabi et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Omega-3 Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (n-3 LCPUFAs) play a key role in early neurodevelopment, but evidence from observational and clinical studies remains inconsistent. This study investigates the association between maternal n-3 LCPUFA, Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) concentrations during pregnancy and infant development functioning at 40 days. This study includes 348 mother-infant pairs. Maternal serum concentrations were assessed in the first and third trimesters alongside sociodemographic, clinical, nutritional, psychological, and obstetrical data. At 40 days, the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (BSID-III) was administered. An adjusted analysis revealed that lower first-trimester n-3 LCPUFA and DHA concentrations are associated with better infant motor development. These results underscore the potential significance of the maternal n-3 LCPUFA status in early pregnancy for influencing fetal neurodevelopment. However, the complexity of these associations necessitates further investigation, emphasizing the urgent need for additional studies to comprehensively elucidate the nuanced interplay between the maternal n-3 LCPUFA status and infant neurodevelopment.

Keywords: DHA; EPA; cognitive development; infant neurodevelopment; omega-3; pregnancy; serum concentrations.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders played no role in the study’s design, data collection, analysis, manuscript writing, or in the decision to publish.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the study design, measurements, and population.
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