Dose-Response Relationship Between Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) Intake and Lower Rates of Early Preterm Birth, Low Birth Weight and Very Low Birth Weight

Publication date: Available online 20 September 2018Source: Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty AcidsAuthor(s): Susan E. Carlson, Byron J. Gajewski, Sibelle Alhayek, John Colombo, Elizabeth H. Kerling, Kathleen M. GustafsonAbstractAs previously reported, intention-to-treat findings from our phase III randomized clinical trial found that a supplement of 600 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)/day during the last half of pregnancy reduced the incidence of early preterm birth (ePTB, <34 weeks gestation) and very low birth weight (VLBW <1500 g) offspring. Given the potentially immense clinical significance of these findings, the goal of this secondary analysis was to 1) identify maternal characteristics related with capsule intake (i.e. DHA dose exposure) and 2) determine if DHA dose was associated with low (<2500 g) and very low birth weight after controlling for any relevant maternal characteristics. Three hundred forty-five pregnant mothers were recruited from hospitals in the Kansas City metropolitan area between 2006-2011. Most participants (n=299) were from the phase III trial mentioned above, but we also included 46 participants from a second smaller, randomized trial that utilized an identical intervention design and was conducted concurrent to the larger trial. Both trials assigned participants to either 3 daily capsules of vegetable oil without DHA (n=169) or 3 daily capsules of 200 mg DHA each (n= 176). Total capsules consumed was recorded by pharma...
Source: Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA) - Category: Lipidology Source Type: research