@article{1d43b679c4b3445da6026cfd32bc20bd,
title = "The influence of DHA supplementation during pregnancy on language development across childhood: Follow-up of a randomised controlled trial",
abstract = "Numerous randomised controlled trials have explored the effect of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supplementation in early life on neurodevelopment, with some suggested positive effects on language. Australian women with a singleton pregnancy <21 weeks{\textquoteright} gestation were randomised to receive 800 mg DHA/day or a placebo until birth. A sample of 726 children (all n=96 born preterm, random sample of n=630 born at term) were invited to undergo assessments of language, academic, and language-based cognitive abilities at 1.5, four and seven years of age. No group differences were detected for any group comparison. Exploratory analyses for sex by treatment interactions revealed a possible adverse effect of DHA supplementation on the language of females at 1.5 years but no effects on outcomes at four or seven years. Taken as a whole, evidence of an effect of prenatal DHA supplementation on language abilities across childhood is negligible and could be a chance finding.",
keywords = "DHA, Language, Omega-3 fatty acids, Pregnancy, Supplementation, Verbal abilities",
author = "Gawlik, \{N. R.\} and M. Makrides and L. Kettler and Yelland, \{L. N.\} and S. Leemaqz and Gould, \{J. F.\}",
note = "Funding Information: MM, and LNY were supported by Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) fellowships: MM (Principal Research Fellow APP1061704), LNY (Early Career Fellowship APP1052388) and JFG was supported by a Women's and Children's Hospital Foundation MS McLeod Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. Funding Information: The DOMInO Trial and follow-up studies were supported by projects grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; original trial and 1.5-year follow-up: 349301, 4-year follow-up: 627174, 7-year follow-up: 1048493). The views expressed in this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the views of the NHMRC, Australia. Treatment and control capsules were donated by Incromega 500 TG, Croda Chemicals, East Yorkshire, England. These agencies had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication. Funding Information: We thank Efamol UK for donating the treatment and placebo capsules used in the DOMInO trial; the families and their children who generously participated; and the DOMInO Trial Steering Committee for management of the DOMInO Trial (Chair: Maria Makrides, Deputy chair: Robert A. Gibson, members: Andrew J. McPhee, Lisa Yelland, Julie Quinlivan, Phillip Ryan). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020",
year = "2020",
month = dec,
doi = "10.1016/j.plefa.2020.102207",
language = "English",
volume = "163",
journal = "Prostaglandins Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids",
issn = "0952-3278",
publisher = "Churchill Livingstone",
}