Background: Is RBC DHA status 6 weeks after birth associated with brain growth in low-birth-weight (LBW) infants?

Subjects: 117 LBW infants (≤2500 g), term SGA (n=30), preterm SGA (n=25) and preterm AGA (n=52).

Setting: Prospective cohort study in a secondary newborn unit.

Interventions: Up to postnatal day 42 Infants received either a LCPUFA-free preterm formula (PTF; n=81) or a DHA-enriched PTF (n=26). On postnatal days 10 and 42 we measured RBC DHA contents from blood samples and calculated brain-weight (BRW) and BRW-gain from head circumference repeated measurements.

Results: RBC DHA contents on day 42 were higher in term SGA Infants than preterms and higher in infants fed a DHA-enriched PTF (p ≤ 0.001). On day 42 correlation between RBC DHA content and BRW was found in all infants (p<0.05). BRW-gain correlated with RBC DHA content (r 0.491, p 0.000) in AGA preterms.

Conclusion: During the first 6 weeks of life BRW and/or subsequent brain growth in LBW infants are influenced by their DHA status. In term SGA infants effects of DHA supplementation to formula on brain growth should be evaluated in randomised studies.