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Supplementation of Infant Formula and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: a Systematic Review

  • Maternal and Childhood Nutrition (AC Wood, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of the Review

The aim is to examine data from clinical trials and prospective longitudinal studies that evaluate the effect of infant formula supplements on the cognitive function of children.

Recent Findings

A total of 300 articles from 2000 to 2021 were selected. The most researched IF supplements were initially long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), some proteins and, recently, milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). Supplementation of IF with LC-PUFA led to some positive effects on specific cognitive functions or no effect; however, there was no consistent benefit for cognitive function. Modifying the amount of proteins did not affect the children’s neuropsychological tests. Supplementation of IF with MFGM and its components had beneficial effects on child cognitive development in the short term, but no effect was observed in the long term.

Summary

Further studies are needed to confirm the safety of supplementation on the development of cognitive function in children fed with infant formula.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the journal for the invitation to write this review and URV English Service for the review of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Rovira I Virgili University, Tarragona, Spain

    Victoria Arija, Cristina Jardí, Cristina Bedmar, Andrés Díaz, Lucía Iglesias & Josefa Canals

  2. Nutrition and Mental Health Research Group (NUTRISAM), URV, Reus, Spain

    Victoria Arija, Cristina Jardí, Cristina Bedmar, Andrés Díaz & Lucía Iglesias

  3. Institut d’Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili (IISPV), Reus, Spain

    Victoria Arija, Cristina Jardí, Cristina Bedmar, Andrés Díaz, Lucía Iglesias & Josefa Canals

  4. Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, Rovira I Virgili University, URV, Ctra. Valls s/n. 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    Josefa Canals

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Contributions

The authors’ contributions are as follows: formulated the research question, V. A.; designed the study, V. A.; search strategy, V. A., C. B., C. J.; selected studies, A. D., L. I.; writing—original draft, V. A.; writing—review & editing, V. A., C. J., C. B., J. C. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Josefa Canals.

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Arija, V., Jardí, C., Bedmar, C. et al. Supplementation of Infant Formula and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: a Systematic Review. Curr Nutr Rep 11, 283–300 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13668-022-00410-7

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