Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
2777838 | Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA) | 2011 | 6 Pages |
Preterms need supplementation with docosahexaenoic (DHA) and arachidonic (AA) acids to prevent steep postnatal declines.Associations between growth and erythrocyte (RBC) DHA and AA were studied in 139 preterms (51% male, gestational age 30.3±1.5 weeks, birth weight 1341±288 g) fed human milk with breast milk fortifier or preterm formula until term, followed by postdischarge formula (PDF; n=52, 0.4% DHA, 0.4% AA), term formula (TF; n=41, 0.2% DHA, 0.2% AA), or human milk (HM; n=46).At six months, PDF resulted in higher RBC-DHA than TF and HM, while RBC-AA was higher than TF, but similar to HM. There were no between-group differences in growth between term and six months. RHC-DHA related positively with gain in weight and length and negatively with gain in head circumference. RBC-AA related positively with gain in head circumference and negatively with gain in weight and length.In conclusion, PDF with higher DHA and AA than TF may promote postnatal growth of preterms.