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 .
Formula Supplementation With Long-chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids: Are There Developmental Benefits?
Objective . To evaluate the developmental outcomes of children who participated in an augmented r and omized clinical trial of supplementing a st and ard infant formula with long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids . Design . R and omized clinical trial , augmented with a nonr and omized human milk comparison group . There were three r and omized formula groups : st and ard formula , st and ard formula containing docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA ) , and st and ard formula containing DHA and arachidonic acid . Setting . Three clinical sites serving diverse population s : Kansas City , MO ; Portl and , OR ; and Seattle , WA . Participants . A total of 274 healthy full-term infants were enrolled in the infant-feeding protocol ; of these , 197 ( 72 % ) participated in assessment s of developmental outcome . Formula Supplements . In the r and omized trial , one group received a st and ard formula , another group received a formula that had been supplemented with DHA from fish oil , and a third group received a formula supplemented with both DHA and arachidonic acid from an egg phospholipid . Outcome Measures . Mental and Motor Scales of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 12 months of age ; vocabulary and gesture communication scores from the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories at 14 months of age . Results . There were no statistically significant differences for either the Bayley Mental Scale or the Bayley Motor Scale , neither when the analysis was restricted to the three r and omized formula groups nor when the analysis included all four groups . However , the DHA formula group had significantly lower scores on two of the MacArthur scales : the DHA group scored lower than the nonr and omized human milk comparison group on the Vocabulary Comprehension Scale , and the DHA group scored lower than the r and omized control formula group on the Vocabulary Production Scale . Moreover , additional analyses both in the formula groups and in the human milk comparison group found significant negative correlations between DHA levels and vocabulary outcomes . Conclusion . We believe that additional research should be undertaken before the introduction of these supplements into st and ard infant formulas
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 .