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 .
Impact of Early Dietary Intake and Blood Lipid Composition of Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on Later Visual Development
Background In contrast to human milk , current infant formulas in the United States do not contain ω3 and ω6 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids . This may lead to suboptimal blood lipid fatty acid profiles and to a measurable diminution of visual function in developing term infants . The need for docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid supplementation in the infant diet was evaluated in a double-blind , r and omized clinical trial . Methods Healthy term infants were r and omized to diets of ( 1 ) commercial formula , ( 2 ) docosahexaenoic acid – enriched formula ( 0.35 % of total fatty acids ) , or ( 3 ) docosahexaenoic acid– ( 0.36 % ) and arachidonic acid– ( 0.72 % ) enriched formula .  Eighty-seven infants completed the 17-week nutritional trial , and 58 were observed until 52 weeks of life . A reference group was exclusively breast fed for at least 17 weeks ( n = 29 ) . Outcome measures included electroretinographic responses , visual evoked potentials , and blood fatty acid analysis in infants at birth and at 6 , 17 , and 52 weeks of age . Results Commercial formula-fed infants had 30 % to 50 % lower content of docosahexaenoic acid in total red blood cell lipids during the 17-week feeding trial compared with breast-fed infants . Significant differences persisted at the 1-year follow-up . Arachidonic acid content was consistently reduced in the commercial formula group by 15 % to 20 % . Infants fed long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid – enriched formulas had docosahexaenoic acid and arachidonic acid blood lipid profiles resembling those of human milk-fed infants . Infants receiving this enriched formula had more mature electroretinographic responses than commercial formula-fed infants at 6 weeks of age . Human milk-fed and docosahexaenoic acid-enriched formula-fed infants had better visual acuity than commercial formula-fed infants at both 17 and 52 weeks of age . Early ( 17-week ) fatty acid profiles in blood lipids were correlated with later ( 52-week ) visual function development in study infants . Conclusions Results from this clinical trial demonstrate that long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation of formula in term infants produces blood lipid fatty acid profiles that are similar to those observed in breast-fed infants . This supplementation leads to better visual function later in life ( i.e. , 1 year of age ) than that shown by infants fed commercial formula
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 .