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 .
Maturation of visual acuity is accelerated in breast-fed term infants fed baby food containing DHA-enriched egg yolk.
Between 6 and 12 mo of age , blood levels of the ( n-3 ) long-chain PUFA , docosahexaenoic acid ( DHA ) , in breast-fed infants typically decrease due to diminished maternal DHA stores and the introduction of DHA-poor solid foods displacing human milk as the primary source of nutrition . Thus , we utilized a r and omized , clinical trial format to evaluate the effect of supplemental DHA in solid foods on visual development of breast-fed infants with the primary outcome , sweep visual-evoked potential ( VEP ) acuity , as an index for maturation of the retina and visual cortex . At 6 mo of age , breast-fed infants were r and omly assigned to receive 1 jar ( 113 g)/d of baby food containing egg yolk enriched with DHA ( 115 mg DHA/100 g food ; n = 25 ) or control baby food ( 0 mg DHA ; n = 26 ) . Gravimetric measures were used to estimate the supplemental DHA intake which was 83 mg DHA/d in the supplemented group and 0 mg/d in controls . Although many infants in both groups continued to breast-feed for a mean of 9 mo , RBC DHA levels decreased significantly between 6 and 12 mo ( from 3.8 to 3.0 g/100 g total fatty acids ) in control infants , whereas RBC DHA levels increased by 34 % from 4.1 to 5.5 g/100 g by 12 mo in supplemented infants . VEP acuity at 6 mo was 0.49 logMAR ( minimum angle of resolution ) and improved to 0.29 logMAR by 12 mo in controls . In DHA-supplemented infants , VEP acuity was 0.48 logMAR at 6 mo and matured to 0.14 logMAR at 12 mo ( 1.5 lines on the eye chart better than controls ) . At 12 mo , the difference corresponded to 1.5 lines on the eye chart . RBC DHA levels and VEP acuity at 12 mo were correlated ( r = -0.50 ; P = 0.0002 ) , supporting the need of an adequate dietary supply of DHA throughout 1 y of life for neural development
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 .