There is no evidence that PUFA supplementation in infancy has an effect on infant or childhood allergy , asthma , dermatitis/eczema or food allergy .
However , the quality of evidence was very low .
There was insufficient evidence to determine an effect on allergic rhinitis
BACKGROUND Early dietary intakes may influence the development of allergic disease .
It is important to determine if dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs ) given as supplements or added to infant formula prevent the development of allergy .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of higher PUFA intake during infancy to prevent allergic disease .
Growth and development in preterm infants fed long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids: a prospective, randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVES A r and omized , masked , controlled trial was conducted to assess effects of supplementing premature infant formulas with oils containing the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids , arachidonic acid ( AA ; 20:4 n6 ) , and docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA ; 22:6 n3 ) on growth , visual acuity , and multiple indices of development . METHODS Infants ( N = 470 ) with birth weights 750 to 1800 g were assigned within 72 hours of the first enteral feeding to 1 of 3 formula groups with or without long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids : 1 ) control ( N = 144 ) , 2 ) AA+DHA from fish/fungal oil ( N = 140 ) , and 3 ) AA+DHA from egg-derived triglyceride (egg-TG)/fish oil ( N = 143 ) .  Infants were fed human milk and /or Similac Special Care with or without 0.42 % AA and 0.26 % DHA to term corrected age ( CA ) , then fed human milk or NeoSure with or without 0.42 % AA and 0.16 % DHA to 12 months ' CA . Infants fed exclusively human milk to term CA ( EHM-T ; N = 43 ) served as a reference . RESULTS Visual acuity measured by acuity cards at 2 , 4 , and 6 months ' CA was not different among groups . Visual acuity measured by swept-parameter visual-evoked potentials in a subgroup from 3 sites ( 45 control , 50 AA+DHA [ fish/fungal ] ; 39 AA+DHA [ egg-TG/fish ] ; and 23 EHM-T ) was better in both the AA+DHA ( fish/fungal ; least square [ LS ] means [ cycle/degree ] + /- st and ard error [ SE ; octaves ] 11.4 + /- 0.1 ) and AA+DHA ( egg-TG/fish ; 12.5 + /- 0.1 ) than control ( 8.4 + /- 0.1 ) and closer to that of the EHM-T group ( 16.0 + /- 0.2 ) at 6 months ' CA . Visual acuity improved from 4 to 6 months ' CA in all but the control group . Scores on the Fagan test of novelty preference were greater in AA+DHA ( egg-TG/fish ; LS means + /- SE , 59.4 + /- 7.7 ) than AA+DHA ( fish/fungal ; 57.0 + /- 7.5 ) and control ( 57.5 + /- 7.4 ) at 6 months ' CA , but not at 9 months ' CA . There were no differences in the Bayley Mental Development Index at 12 months ' CA . However , the Bayley motor development index was higher for AA+DHA ( fish/fungal ; LS means + /- SE , 90.6 + /- 4.4 ) than control ( 81.8 + /- 4.3 ) for infants < /=1250 g. When Spanish-speaking infants and twins were excluded from the analyses , the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory revealed that control infants ( LS means + /- SE , 94.1 + /- 2.9 ) had lower vocabulary comprehension at 14 months ' CA than AA+DHA ( fish/fungal ) infants ( 100.6 + /- 2.9 ) or AA+DHA ( egg-TG/fish ) infants ( 102.2 + /- 2.8 ) . There were no consistent differences in weight , length , head circumference , or anthropometric gains . CONCLUSION These results showed a benefit of supplementing formulas for premature infants with AA and DHA from either a fish/fungal or an egg-TG/fish source from the time of first enteral feeding to 12 months ' CA
There is no evidence that PUFA supplementation in infancy has an effect on infant or childhood allergy , asthma , dermatitis/eczema or food allergy .
However , the quality of evidence was very low .
There was insufficient evidence to determine an effect on allergic rhinitis
BACKGROUND Early dietary intakes may influence the development of allergic disease .
It is important to determine if dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids ( PUFAs ) given as supplements or added to infant formula prevent the development of allergy .
OBJECTIVES To determine the effect of higher PUFA intake during infancy to prevent allergic disease .