Effect of fish-oil supplementation on breastmilk long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid concentration: a randomized controlled trial in rural Ethiopia.

摘要

For infants and young children in low-income settings, human milk (HM) is the main source of omega-3 (n-3) long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPs), including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). However, the n-3 LCPs concentrations of HM show wide variability, largely depending on the maternal intake of marine foods. This may put children living far from coastal areas at risk of inadequate intake. We evaluated the efficacy of fish-oil (FO) supplementation of lactating mothers on HM n-3 LCPs concentrations in a rural setting from Ethiopia. Mothers (n?=?360) with children 6-12 months old were randomized to receive either intervention FO capsules (215?mg DHA?+?285?mg EPA) or control corn-oil capsules (without n-3 LCPs). In a random subsample of 154 participants, we analyzed LCPs in HM and child capillary blood using gas chromatography. Compared to the control, FO supplementation increased HM concentrations of DHA by 39.0% (95% CI: 20.6, 57.5%; P?