Effect of fish oil supplementation in pregnancy on bone, lean, and fat mass at six years: randomised clinical trial

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Documents

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of supplementation with n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA) in pregnancy on anthropometry and body composition in offspring.

DESIGN: Double blinded, randomised controlled trial.

SETTING: Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood2010 cohort.

PARTICIPANTS: 736 pregnant women and their offspring.

INTERVENTION: n-3 LCPUFA (fish oil) or control (olive oil) daily from pregnancy week 24 until one week after birth.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Height/length, weight, head, and waist measurements and body composition from dual energy x ray absorptiometry (all pre-specified secondary endpoints of the n-3 LCPUFA trial; the primary outcome for the trial was persistent wheeze/asthma).

RESULTS: The mean body mass index (BMI) z score was increased between age 0 and 6 years in the fish oil supplementation group compared with the control group (0.14 (95% confidence interval 0.04 to 0.23); P=0.006). At 6 years, supplementation was associated with a higher BMI z score (0.19 (0.06 to 0.32); P=0.004), a higher weight/height (3.48 (0.38 to 6.57) g/cm; P=0.03), and a larger waist circumference (0.6 (0.0 to 1.2) cm; P=0.04) but not a higher proportion of obese children, using International Obesity Task Force grades. The dual energy x ray absorptiometry scan at age 6 years showed a higher total mass (395.4 (86.6 to 704.3) g; P=0.01) in the supplementation versus the control group, explained by a higher lean mass (280.7 (98.9 to 462.4) g; P=0.002), a higher bone mineral content (10.3 (2.3 to 18.1) g; P=0.01), and a non-significantly higher fat mass (116.3 (-92.9 to 325.5) g; P=0.28), but no differences were seen in total body fat or lean mass percentage.

CONCLUSION: Fish oil supplementation from the 24th week of pregnancy led to a higher BMI in the offspring from 0 to 6 years of age but not an increased risk of obesity at age 6. The body composition at age 6 years in children given fish oil supplementation was characterised by a proportional increase in lean, bone, and fat mass suggesting a general growth stimulating effect of n-3 LCPUFA.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00798226.

Original languageEnglish
Article numberk3312
JournalBMJ (Clinical research ed.)
Volume362
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
ISSN0959-8146
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

    Research areas

  • Absorptiometry, Photon, Adult, Body Mass Index, Bone Density/drug effects, Bone Development/drug effects, Child, Dietary Supplements, Double-Blind Method, Fatty Acids, Omega-3/administration & dosage, Female, Fish Oils/administration & dosage, Humans, Infant, Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Pregnancy, Prenatal Care, Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects, Prospective Studies

Number of downloads are based on statistics from Google Scholar and www.ku.dk


No data available

ID: 220857492