Omega-3 Fatty Acid Dietary Supplements Consumed During Pregnancy and Lactation and Child Neurodevelopment: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Maternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation has profound effects on the development and lifelong health of the child. Long-chain PUFAs are particularly important for myelination and the development of vision during the perinatal period. OBJECTIVES: We conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and/or lactation and neurodevelopment in children, to inform the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. METHODS: We identified articles on omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in pregnant and lactating women that included measures of neurodevelopment in their children (0-18 y) by searching PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase, and CINAHL Plus. After dual screening articles for inclusion, we qualitatively synthesized and graded the strength of evidence using pre-established criteria for assessing risk of bias, consistency, directness, precision, and generalizability. RESULTS: We included 33 articles from 15 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 1 prospective cohort study. Of the 8 RCTs that delivered omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplements during pregnancy alone (200-2200 mg/d DHA and 0-1100 mg/d EPA for approximately 20 wk), 5 studies reported ≥1 finding that supplementation improved measures of cognitive development in the infant or child by 6%-11% (P < 0.05), but all 8 studies also reported ≥1 nonsignificant (P > 0.05) result. There was inconsistent or insufficient evidence for other outcomes (language, social-emotional, physical, motor, or visual development; academic performance; risks of attention deficit disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, or depression) and for supplementation during lactation or both pregnancy and lactation. Populations with a lower socioeconomic status and adolescents were underrepresented and studies lacked racial and ethnic diversity. CONCLUSIONS: Limited evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy may result in favorable cognitive development in the child. There was insufficient evidence to evaluate the effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation on other developmental outcomes.

Development of Food Pattern Recommendations for Infants and Toddlers 6-24 Months of Age to Support the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.

BACKGROUND: Developing food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) for infants and toddlers is a complex task that few countries have attempted. OBJECTIVES: Our objectives are to describe the process of food pattern modeling (FPM) conducted to develop FBDGs for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 for infants 6 to <12 mo and toddlers 12 to <24 mo of age, as well as the implications of the results and areas needing further work. METHODS: The US 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, with the support of federal staff, conducted FPM analyses using 5 steps: 1) identified energy intake targets; 2) established nutritional goals; 3) identified food groupings and expected amounts, using 3 options for the amount of energy from human milk in each age interval; 4) estimated expected nutrient intakes for each scenario, based on nutrient-dense representative foods; and 5) evaluated expected nutrient intakes against nutritional goals. RESULTS: For human milk-fed infants (and toddlers), example combinations of complementary foods and beverages were developed that come close to meeting almost all nutrient recommendations if iron-fortified infant cereals are included at 6 to <12 mo of age. These combinations would also be suitable for formula-fed infants. For toddlers not fed human milk, 2 patterns were developed: the Healthy US-Style Pattern and the Healthy Vegetarian Pattern (a lacto-ovo vegetarian pattern). Achieving nutrient recommendations left virtually no remaining energy for added sugars. CONCLUSIONS: It is challenging to meet all nutrient needs during these age intervals. Added sugars should be avoided for infants and toddlers <2 y of age. Further work is needed to 1) establish a reference human milk composition profile, 2) update and strengthen the DRI values for these age groups, and 3) use optimization modeling, in combination with FPM, to identify combinations of foods that meet all nutritional goals.

Iron and infection: An investigation of the optimal iron hypothesis in Lima, Peru.

OBJECTIVES: This article explores the optimal iron hypothesis through secondary data analysis of the association between hemoglobin levels and morbidity among children living in Canto Grande, a peri-urban community located on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. METHODS: Risk ratios were used to test whether lower iron status, assessed using the HemoCue B-Hemoglobin System, was associated with an increased relative risk of morbidity symptoms compared to iron replete status, controlling for infant age, sex, weight for height z-score, maternal education, and repeated measures in 515 infants aged 6-12 months. RESULTS: Infants with fewer current respiratory and diarrheal morbidity symptoms had a lower risk of low iron deficiency compared to participants who were iron replete (P < .10). Infants with fewer current respiratory infection symptoms had a statistically significant (P < .05) reduction in risk of moderate iron deficiency compared to infants who were iron replete. CONCLUSION: In this study, morbidity status was not predictive of iron deficient status over a six-month interval period, but nonreplete iron status was shown to be associated with current morbidity symptoms. These results support investigating iron status as an allostatic system that responds to infection adaptively, rather than expecting an optimal preinfection value.

Food Insecurity, HIV Disease Progression and Access to Care Among HIV-Infected Russians not on ART.

Food insecurity (FI) has been associated with HIV disease progression among people on antiretroviral therapy (ART), presumably a consequence of poor medication adherence. We assessed whether there is a longitudinal association between FI and two primary outcomes reflecting on HIV disease progression (i.e., CD4 count and time to ART initiation) among people not on ART. Analyses used linear mixed effects and Cox models controlling for confounders. In this cohort (n = 310) FI was common (53%). Most (71.3%) reported past month heavy alcohol use and 37.1% reported past month injection drug use. Only 50 participants initiated ART during the study and mean time to ART was 128 days (SD 120). There were no significant differences in CD4 cell count between the groups with mild/moderate FI or severe FI versus those with no FI [adjusted mean difference, mild/moderate insecurity versus no FI -32.5 (95% CI -94.3, 29.3); severe versus no FI -45.5 (95% CI -124.1, 33.0); global p = 0.42]. We found no significant association between FI and longer time to ART initiation (p = 0.36). Food security is a desirable goal for overall health and shown beneficial for those on ART, however it does not appear to be associated with HIV disease progression among those with high prevalence of substance use and not yet on ART.

Exclusive breastfeeding for 4 versus 6 months and growth in early childhood.

AIM: To investigate the growth and the prevalence of overweight in early childhood among infants exclusively breastfed for 6 months (EBF) compared with those receiving complementary foods from 4 months of age in addition to breast milk (CF). METHODS: A total of 119 mother-infant pairs were randomised either in the CF or in the EBF group. Weight, length and head circumference of the infants were measured at birth, 6 weeks, and 3-6 months of age. In the follow-up, the children's weight, length and head circumference were measured at 8, 10, 12 and 18 months and weight and height at 29-38 months. RESULTS: There were no differences between groups in the anthropometric outcome measures of weight-for-age (p = 0.78), length-for-age (p = 0.59), head-circumference-for-age (p = 0.82) and BMI-for-age (p = 0.61), using repeated measurements ANOVA. Furthermore, no difference was seen in the prevalence between groups in risk of being overweight or in those who were overweight at 18 months and 29-38 months of age. CONCLUSION: Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 4 or 6 months of life does not seem to affect the risk of being overweight or the prevalence of those who were overweight in early childhood.

Metabolizable Energy Content of Breastmilk Supports Normal Growth in Exclusively Breastfed Icelandic Infants to Age 6 Months.

BACKGROUND: Neither the global population nor individual countries have reached the World Health Organization (WHO) target of ≥50% of infants exclusively breastfed (EBF) until 6 mo. This may partly be because of the perceptions of insufficient milk and energy supply to meet rapid growth and development needs. OBJECTIVES: In a longitudinal observational study, we aimed to determine whether breastmilk energy content is sufficient to support growth during EBF until 6 mo. METHODS: A sample of 27 EBF infants was dosed with doubly labeled water (DLW) at 5.6 mo to measure body composition, breastmilk intake, energy intake, and the metabolizable energy (ME) content of their mother's breastmilk over the following week. Z-scores were calculated for anthropometry using WHO reference data and for fat-free mass (FFM) and fat mass (FM) using United Kingdom reference data. RESULTS: Anthropometric z-scores from birth indicated normal weight and length growth patterns. At ∼6 mo, the mean ± standard deviation (SD) FFM z-score was 0.22 ± 1.07, and the FM z-score was 0.78 ± 0.70, significantly >0. In the 22 infants with acceptable data, the mean ± SD measured intake of breastmilk was 983 ± 170 g/d and of energy, 318 ± 60 kJ/kg/d, equivalent to 75.9 ± 14.3 kcal/kg/d. The mean ME content of breastmilk was 2.61 kJ/g [standard error (SE) 0.1], equivalent to 0.62 kcal/g (SE 0.02). Mothers were positive toward breastfeeding, on paid maternity leave (planned mean 10 mo), and many (56%) had received specialized breastfeeding support. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence from this study confirms that when mothers are motivated and supported without economic restraints, breastmilk intake and the energy supplied by breastmilk to EBF infants at 6 mo of age is sufficient to support normal growth patterns. There was no evidence of constraint on FFM, and other studies show that high FM in EBF infants is likely to be transient. These data further support the recommendation for EBF ≤6 mo of age for body composition. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02586571.

Fruit juice consumption is associated with improved nutrient adequacy in children and adolescents: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003-2006.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the contribution of 100 % fruit juice (FJ) consumption to dietary adequacy of shortfall nutrients by children and adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Secondary analysis of data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). SUBJECTS: Children and adolescents aged 2-18 years (n 7250). Usual intake, determined from two 24 h dietary recalls, was calculated using the National Cancer Institute method. The population was dichotomized into consumers or non-consumers of 100 % FJ. The age/gender-specific percentage of the two consumption groups with intakes less than the Estimated Average Requirement or that exceeded the Adequate Intake for selected nutrients was determined. A Z-statistic for differences in population proportions was used to determine significance (P < 0.05). RESULTS: Children aged 2-5 years had the highest percentage of 100 % FJ consumers (71.1 %), followed by children aged 6-12 years (57.0 %) and adolescents aged 13-18 years (44.5 %). Compared with 100 % FJ consumers, a significantly higher percentage of non-consumers had intakes below the Estimated Average Requirement for vitamin A (24.4 (SE 2.5) % v. 42.2 (SE 2.5) %), vitamin C (0.1 (SE 0.2) % v. 38.9 (SE 4.1) %), folate (8.8 (SE 1.5) % v. 22.1 (SE 2.4) %), P (11.6 (SE 2.1) % v. 21.3 (SE 2.6) %) and Mg (25.8 (SE 1.7) % v. 46.1 (SE 2.0) %). A greater percentage of 100 % FJ consumers exceeded the Adequate Intake for K (2.4 (SE 0.5) v. 0.5 (SE 0.2) %) compared with non-consumers. CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of 100 % FJ is associated with improved nutrient adequacy and can contribute to a healthy diet.

Assessing the safety of bioactive ingredients in infant formula that affect the immune system: recommendations from an expert panel.

Bioactive ingredients for infant formula have been sought to reduce disparities in health outcomes between breastfed and formula-fed infants. Traditional food safety methodologies have limited ability to assess some bioactive ingredients. It is difficult to assess the effects of nutrition on the infant immune system because of coincident developmental adaptations to birth, establishment of the microbiome and introduction to solid foods, and perinatal environmental factors. An expert panel was convened to review information on immune system development published since the 2004 Institute of Medicine report on evaluating the safety of new infant formula ingredients and to recommend measurements that demonstrate the safety of bioactive ingredients intended for that use. Panel members participated in a 2-d virtual symposium in November 2020 and in follow-up discussions throughout early 2021. Key topics included identification of immune system endpoints from nutritional intervention studies, effects of human milk feeding and human milk substances on infant health outcomes, ontologic development of the infant immune system, and microbial influences on tolerance. The panel explored how "nonnormal" conditions such as preterm birth, allergy, and genetic disorders could help define developmental immune markers for healthy term infants. With consideration of breastfed infants as a reference, ensuring proper control groups, and attention to numerous potential confounders, the panel recommended a set of standard clinical endpoints including growth, response to vaccination, infection and other adverse effects related to inflammation, and allergy and atopic diseases. It compiled a set of candidate markers to characterize stereotypical patterns of immune system development during infancy, but absence of reference ranges, variability in methods and populations, and unreliability of individual markers to predict disease prevented the panel from including many markers as safety endpoints. The panel's findings and recommendations are applicable for industry, regulatory, and academic settings, and will inform safety assessments for immunomodulatory ingredients in foods besides infant formula.

Dietary and Complementary Feeding Practices of US Infants, 6 to 12 Months: A Narrative Review of the Federal Nutrition Monitoring Data.

Complementary foods and beverages (CFBs) are key components of an infant's diet in the second 6 months of life. This article summarizes nutrition and feeding practices examined by the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committees during the CFB life stage. Breastfeeding initiation is high (84%), but exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months (26%) is below the Healthy People 2030 goal (42%). Most infants (51%) are introduced to CFBs sometime before 6 months. The primary mode of feeding (ie, human milk fed [HMF]; infant formula or mixed formula and human milk fed [FMF]) at the initiation of CFBs is associated with the timing of introduction and types of CFBs reported. FMF infants (42%) are more likely to be introduced to CFBs before 4 months compared with HMF infants (19%). Different dietary patterns, such as higher prevalence of consumption and mean amounts, were observed, including fruit, grains, dairy, proteins, and solid fats. Compared with HMF infants of the same age, FMF infants consume more total energy (845 vs 631 kcal) and protein (22 vs 12 g) from all sources, and more energy (345 vs 204 kcal) and protein (11 vs 6 g) from CFBs alone. HMF infants have a higher prevalence of risk of inadequate intakes of iron (77% vs 7%), zinc (54% vs <3%), and protein (27% vs <3%). FMF infants are more likely to have an early introduction (<12 months) to fruit juice (45% vs 20%) and cow's milk (36% vs 24%). Registered dietitian nutritionists and nutritional professionals should consider tailoring their advice to caregivers on dietary and complementary feeding practices, taking into account the primary mode of milk feeding during this life stage to support infants' nutrient adequacy. National studies that address the limitations of this analysis, including small sample sizes and imputed breast milk volume, could refine findings from this analysis.

Breastfeeding and risk of overweight in childhood and beyond: a systematic review with emphasis on sibling-pair and intervention studies.

BACKGROUND: Breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of subsequent overweight or obesity, but it is uncertain whether this is a causal relation because most studies have not adequately reduced risk of bias due to confounding. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this review was to examine whether 1) ever compared with never consuming human milk and 2) different durations of human milk consumption among infants fed human milk are related to later risk of overweight or obesity, with emphasis on sibling-pair and intervention studies. METHODS: The 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, together with the Nutrition Evidence Systematic Review team, conducted a systematic review of articles relevant to healthy full-term infants in countries with a high or very high level of human development. We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL; dual-screened the results using predetermined criteria; extracted data from and assessed the risk of bias for each included study; qualitatively synthesized the evidence; developed conclusion statements; and graded the strength of the evidence. RESULTS: The review included 42 articles, including 6 cohorts with sibling-pair analyses and 1 randomized controlled trial of a breastfeeding promotion intervention. Moderate evidence suggested that ever, compared with never, consuming human milk is associated with a lower risk of overweight and obesity at ages 2 y and older, particularly if the duration of human milk consumption is >6 mo. However, residual confounding cannot be ruled out. Evidence was insufficient to determine the relation between the duration of any human milk consumption, among infants fed human milk, and overweight and/or obesity at age 2 y and older. CONCLUSIONS: Further research, using strong study designs, is needed to disentangle the complex relation between infant feeding practices and the risk of subsequent overweight or obesity, as well as the biological and behavioral mechanisms if the relation is causal.

Relationship between whole grain and fiber consumption and body weight measures among 6- to 18-year-olds.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between whole grain and fiber consumption and body weight measures in children 6 to 12 (n=3868) and adolescents 13 to 18 (n=4931) years old. STUDY DESIGN: Combined 1999 to 2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data were analyzed. Mean body mass index (BMI), BMI percentile, BMI z-score, waist circumference, and prevalence of overweight/obesity were compared across categories of whole grain consumption (0 to <0.6, >or=0.6 to <1.5, >or=1.5 to <3, and >or=3 servings) with (1) a sex, ethnicity, and total energy intake-adjusted model and (2) a cereal fiber plus model 1 covariates profile. RESULTS: Mean whole grain intake was 0.59 and 0.63 servings/d among children 6 to 12 years and adolescents 13 to 18 years, respectively. In children, consumption of >or=3 servings of whole grain was not associated with body weight measures; however, consumption of 1.5 to <3 servings was positively associated with all weight measures. In adolescents, BMI z-score was significantly lower in the highest whole grain consumption group compared with the lowest 2 groups; BMI percentile and waist circumference (model 1 only) were also significantly lower in the highest whole grain consumption group. CONCLUSIONS: Overall consumption of whole grain was below current recommendations of at least 3 servings per day. Only in adolescents was this level of whole grain intake associated with lower BMI z-scores.

Child and parental poor health among families at risk for hunger attending a community health center.

BACKGROUND: Hunger is prevalent in low-income families. Community clinics offer an opportunity to identify families who experience hunger and to address hunger-related health problems. METHODS: Parents of pediatric patients seen in an urban clinic completed a single question hunger screen. A subsample of parents participated in an interview. Patient and parental medical and mental health diagnoses were collected from medical records. RESULTS: Children from families reporting hunger were more likely than those from families not reporting hunger to be obese and to have more documented medical diagnoses. Parents reporting hunger were also more likely to have mental health problems noted and to describe poor health status. CONCLUSION: Hunger is associated with specific health problems among children and parents in a low-income community clinic. A simple screen to identify hungry families in clinics may assist in recognition of hunger's contribution to child and parental poor health and development of targeted interventions.

Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding: what is the evidence to support current recommendations?

Before 2001, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that infants be exclusively breastfed for 4-6 mo with the introduction of complementary foods (any fluid or food other than breast milk) thereafter. In 2001, after a systematic review and expert consultation, this advice was changed, and exclusive breastfeeding is now recommended for the first 6 mo of life. The systematic review commissioned by the WHO compared infant and maternal outcomes for exclusive breastfeeding for 3-4 mo versus 6 mo. That review concluded that infants exclusively breastfed for 6 mo experienced less morbidity from gastrointestinal infection and showed no deficits in growth but that large randomized trials are required to rule out small adverse effects on growth and the development of iron deficiency in susceptible infants. Others have raised concerns that the evidence is insufficient to confidently recommend exclusive breastfeeding for 6 mo for infants in developed countries, that breast milk may not meet the full energy requirements of the average infant at 6 mo of age, and that estimates of the proportion of exclusively breastfed infants at risk of specific nutritional deficiencies are not available. Additionally, virtually no data are available to form evidence-based recommendations for the introduction of solids in formula-fed infants. Given increasing evidence that early nutrition and growth have effects on both short- and longer-term health, it is vital that this issue be investigated in high-quality randomized studies. Meanwhile, the consequences of the WHO recommendation should be monitored in different settings to assess compliance and record and act on adverse events. The policy should then be reviewed in the context of new data to formulate evidence-based recommendations.

Use of a single-question screening tool to detect hunger in families attending a neighborhood health center.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the use and accuracy of a brief screening tool to identify family hunger, administered in an inner-city primary health care setting and the use of food assistance programs by families in this setting. METHODS: Parents were asked to complete a screening tool for hunger during a routine visit with their children to their neighborhood health center. To evaluate the accuracy of the single-question screening, a subsample of parents who completed the screening participated in an extended interview. Patients were from a neighborhood health center in Chelsea, Massachusetts. A total of 1750 families were screened, and 122 parents completed extended interviews. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Household Food Security Scale (HFSS) was used as the standard to assess the accuracy of the brief hunger screening tool. The USDA Food Assistance Program Participation Survey was used to gather information about food program use. RESULTS: The brief hunger screening tool showed 83% sensitivity and 80% specificity (kappa = .62) compared with the HFSS. The screening also had significant time-to-time reliability (77%). Among families screened as hungry, no food assistance programs were fully used. CONCLUSIONS: The single-question screening tool had acceptable sensitivity, specificity, and reliability. Hungry families underused all types of food assistance programs. Taken together, these findings suggest that screening for hunger could become an important addition to routine pediatric health care in low-income neighborhoods.

Historical Overview of Transitional Feeding Recommendations and Vegetable Feeding Practices for Infants and Young Children.

Although recommendations for introducing solid foods to infants and young children have changed significantly since the beginning of the 20th century, vegetable consumption recommendations have always been an important part of the child-feeding repertoire. In 1958, the first report of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Nutrition stated that developmental maturity of the gut and neuromuscular system, growth rate, and activity level were good indicators for determining when to introduce solid foods to infants than age. All 7 editions of the AAP Pediatric Nutrition Handbook use an evidence-based model for recommendations concerning the complementary feeding of infants and young children. The model includes developmental readiness principles, feeding practices, and age-appropriate nutrient requirements. Dietary patterns and nutrient consumption among infants and young children have been analyzed using data from the 2002 and 2008 Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS). The 2008 FITS also collected information concerning participation in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Since 1972, WIC has been a cost-effective means of improving the diets and health of infants and young children from low-income families. Data from the 2008 FITS showed that many young children did not consume recommended amounts of fiber or potassium, and vegetable and fruit intakes continued to be lower than recommended. Low vegetable consumption and limited variety were also seen among WIC participants and nonparticipants aged 6 months to 4 years prior to changes in the WIC food package. Increasing children's consumption of all vegetables should continue to be a focus going forward.