Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Visual acuity and erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid status in breast-fed and formula-fed term infants during the first four months of life

  • Symposium on Dietary Fat and Neural Development
  • Published:
Lipids

Abstract

It has been recognized that preterm infants have a more rapid development of visual acuity if fed human milk or a formula enriched with the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA) docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) compared to a standard formula devoid of LCPUFA. Few studies have addressed whether the same is also true in term infants. The aim of the present study was to follow visual acuity and fatty acid composition in red blood cells (RBC) for the first 4 mon of life in 17 breast-fed and 16 formula-fed term infants. The formula used did not contain LCPUFA, but contained 1.7 wt% α-linolenic acid, and the linoleic/α-linolenic acid ratio was 8.5. The increase in visual acuity measured by Teller acuity cards developed more rapidly in breast-fed infants compared to formula-fed infants (P<0.001). This was parallelled by a decrease in DHA of RBC in formulafed infants, and with a significantly lower level at two and four months as compared to breast-fed infants. The content of DHA in milk from the breast-feeding mothers was high compared to other Western countries. The difference in visual acuity between the two feeding groups could be due to differences in DHA status as reflected by the RBC levels, but other explanations are possible. Intervention studies are required to verify if development of visual acuity in term formula-fed infants is dependent on the DHA level of formula.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

AA:

arachidonic acid

DHA:

docosahexaenoic acid

GC:

gas-liquid chromatography

LCPUFA:

long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids

PC:

phosphatidylcholine

PE:

phosphatidylethanolamine

RBC:

red blood cells

VEP:

visual-evoked potentials

References

  1. Koletzko, B., and Bremer, H.J. (1989) Fat Content and Fatty Acid Composition of Infant Formulas,Acta Paediatr. Scand. 78, 513–521.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Jørgensen, M.H., Lassen, A., and Michaelsen, K.F. (1995) Fatty Acid Composition in Danish Infant Formula Compared to Human Milk,Scand. J. Nutr. 39, 50–54.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Sauerwald, T., Jensen, C.L., Chen, H.M., Anderson, R.E., Heird, W.C., and Hachev, D.L. (1995) Effect of Dietary 18:3n-3 Intake and Postnatal Age on the Kinetic of Elongation and Desaturation of 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3,Pediatr. Res. 37, 319A.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Voss, A., Reinhart, M., Sankarappa, S., and Sprecher, H. (1991) The Metabolism of 7,10,13,16,19-docosapentaenoic Acid to 4,7,10, 13,16,19-Docosahexaenoic Acid in Rat Liver Is Independent of a 4-Desaturase,J. Biol. Chem. 266, 19995–20000.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Innis, S.M. (1991) Essential Fatty Acids in Growth and Development,Prog. Lipid Res. 30, 39–103.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Carlson, S.E., Cooke, R.J., Rhodes, P.G., Peeples, J.M., Werkman, S.H., and Tolley, E.A. (1991) Long-Term Feeding of Formulas High in Linolenic Acid and Marine Oil to Very Low Birth Weight Infants: Phospholipid Fatty Acids,Peiatr. Res. 30, 404–412.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Innis, S.M., Foote, K.D., MacKinnon, M.J., and King, D.J. (1990) Plasma and Red Blood Cell Fatty Acids of Low-Birth-Weight Infants Fed Their Mother’s Expressed Breast Milk or Preterm-Infant Formula,Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 51, 994–1000.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Mutnam, J.C., Carlson, S.E., DeVoe, P.W., and Barness, L.A. (1982) The Effect of Variations in Dietary Fatty Acids on the Fatty Acid Composition of Erythrocyte Phosphatidylcholine and Phosphatidylethanolamine in Human Infants,Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 36, 106–114.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Ponder, D.L., Innis, S.M., Bensen, J.D., and Siegman, J.S. (1992) Docosanhexaenoic Acid Status of Term Infants Fed Breast Milk or Infant formula Containing Soy Oil or Corn Oil,Pediatr. Res. 32, 683–688.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Decsi, T., Thiel, I., and Koletzko, B. (1995) Essential Fatty Acids in Full-Term Infants Fed Breast Milk or Formula,Arch. Dis. Child 72, F23-F28.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Birch, E.E., Birch, D.G., Hoffman, D.R., and Uauy, R. (1992) Dietary Essential Fatty Acid Supply and Visual Acuity Development,Invest. Ophthalmol. Visual Sci. 33, 3242–3253.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Carlson, S.E., Werkman, S.H., Rhodes, P.G., and Tolley, E.A. (1993) Visual-Acuity Development in Healthy Preterm Infants: Effect of Marine-Oil Supplementation,Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 58, 35–42.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Makrides, M., Simmer, K., Goggin, M., and Gibson, R.A. (1993) Erythrocyte Dcosahexaenoic Acid Correlated with the VIsual Response of Healthy. Tern Infants,Pediatr. Res. 33, 425–427.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Birch, E., Birch, D., Hoffman, D., Hale, L., Everett, M., and Uauy, R. (1993) Breast-Feeding and Optimal Visual Development,J. Pediat. Ophthalmol. Strab. 30, 33–38.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Innis, S.M., Nelson, C.M., Rioux, M.F., and King, D.J. (1994) Development of Visual Acuity in Relation to Plasma and Erythrocyte Omega-6 and Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Healthy Term Gestation Infants,Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 60, 347–352.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Auested, N., Montaito, M.B., Wheeler, R.E., FitzGerald, K.R., Hall, R.T., Neuringer, M., Connor, W.E., Hartmann, E.E., and Taylor, J.A. (1995) Visual Acuity, RBC Fatty Acids and Growth in Term Infants Fed Formula With and Without Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids,Pediatr. Res 37, 302A.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Aggett, P.J., Haschke, F., Heine, W., Hernell, O., Koletzko, B., Launiala, K., Rey, J., Rubino, A., Schoch, G., Senterre, J., and Tormo, R. (1991) Comment on the Content and Composition of Lipids in Infant Formulas, ESPGAN Committee on Nutrition,Acta Paediat. Scand 80, 887–896.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Jensen, R.G. (1989)The Lipids of Human Milk, pp. 1–213, CRC Press, Boca Raton.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Folch, J., Lees, M., and Sloane Stanley, G.M. (1959), A Simple Method for the Isolation and Purification of Total Lipids from Animal Tissues,J. Biol. Chem. 226, 497–509.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Gilfillan, A.M., Chu, A.J., Stuart, D.A., and Roney, S.A. (1983) Single Plate Separation of Lungs Phospholipids Including Disaturated Phosphatidylcholine,J. Lipid Res. 24, 1651–1656.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Høy, C.E., and Hølmer, G. (1988) Dietary Linoleic Acid and the Fatty Acid Profiles in Rats Fed Partially Hydrogenated Marine Oils,Lipids 23, 973–980.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Christopherson, S.W., and Glass, R.L. (1969) Preparation of Milk Fat Methyl Esters by Alcoholysis in an Essentially Nonalcoholic Solution,J. Dairy Sci. 52, 1289–1290.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Teller, D.Y., McDonald, M.A., Preston, K., Sebris, S.L., and Dobson, V. (1986) Assessment of Visual Acuity in Infants and Children: The Acuity Card Procedure,Dev. Med. Child Neurol. 28, 779–789.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Innis, S.M. (1993) Effect of Different Milk or Formula Diets on Brain, Liver and Blood n-6 and n-3 Fatty Acids, inEssential Fatty Acids and Eicosanoids, Invited Papers from the Third International Congress (Sinclair, A., and Gibson, R., eds.), pp. 183–191, AOCS Press, Champaign.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Farquharson, J., Cockburn, F., Patrick, W.A., Jamieson, E.C., and Logan, R.W. (1992) Infant Cerebral Cortex Phospholipid Fatty-Acid Composition and Diet,Lancet 340, 810–813.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Makrides, M., Neumann, M.A., Byard, R.W., Simmer, K., and Gibson, R.A. (1994) Fatty Acid Composition of Brain, Retina, and Erythrocytes in Breast- and Formula-Fed Infants,Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 60, 189–194.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Innis, S.M., Nelson, C.M., Rioux, F.M., Wasien, P., and Lwaopa, D. (1995) Visual Acuity, Cognitive Development and Nutrition in Term Infants,Pediatric Research 37, 310A.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Jørgensen, M.H., Jansbo, F., Hølmer, G., Hernell, O, and Michaelsen, K.F. (1994) Breast-Fed (BF) Term Infants Have a Better Visual Acuity Than Formula-Fed (FF) Infants at the Age of Two and Four Months,Faseb. J. 8, A460.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Makrides, M., Neumann, M., Simmer, K., Pater, J., and Gibson, R. (1995) Are Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Essential Nutrients in Infancy?Lancet 345, 1463–1468.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Jensen, R.G., Ferris, A.M., and Lammi-Keefe, C.J. (1992) Lipids in Human milk and Infant Formulas,Annu. Rev. Nutr. 12, 417–441.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Dotson, K.D., Jerrell, J.P., Picciano, M.F., and Perkins, E.G. (1992) High-Performance Liquid Chromatography of Human Milk Triacylglycerols and Gas Chromatography of Component Fatty Acids,Lipids 27, 933–939.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Koletzko, B., Thiel, I., and Abiodun, P.O. (1992) The Fatty Acid Composition of Human Milk in Europe and Africa,J. Pediatr. 120, S62-S70.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Carlson, S.E., Ford, A.J., Peoples, J.M., and Werkman, S.H. (1995) Visual Acuity in Term Infants Fed Human Milk or Randomly Assigned to a Formula With or Without Long-Chain n-3 and n-6 Fatty Acids,Pediatr. Res. 37, 303A.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Advanced Food Studies and Research Department of Human Nutrition, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Frederiksberg, Denmark

    M. Hørby Jørgensen & K. Fleischer Michaelsen

  2. Center for Advanced Food Studies and Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark

    P. Lund & G. Hølmer

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Umeå University, S-90 187, Umeå, Sweden

    O. Hernell

Authors
  1. M. Hørby Jørgensen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. O. Hernell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. P. Lund
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. G. Hølmer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. K. Fleischer Michaelsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Additional information

Based on a presentation at the AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo in San Antonio, Texas, May 7–11, 1995.

About this article

Cite this article

Hørby Jørgensen, M., Hernell, O., Lund, P. et al. Visual acuity and erythrocyte docosahexaenoic acid status in breast-fed and formula-fed term infants during the first four months of life. Lipids 31, 99–105 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02522418

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02522418

Keywords

Search

Navigation