DHA improves children's cognitive function.Docosahexaenoic acid docosahexaenoic acid /do·co·sa·hexa·eno·ic ac·id/ (do-ko?sah-hek?sah-e-no´ik) an omega-3, polyunsaturated, 22-carbon fatty acid found almost exclusively in fish and marine animal oils. (DHA DHA docosahexaenoic acid. DHA, n.pr See acid, docosahexaenoic. ) supplementation in healthy children improves measures of cognitive function, according to a multicenter US study. * DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid omega-3 fatty acid n. Any of various polyunsaturated fatty acids that are found primarily in fish, fish oils, vegetable oils, and leafy green vegetables, and that seem to reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack. found in the brain, is crucial for development. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In this study, 175 healthy four-year-old children were recruited from 11 different sites and randomly assigned to receive DHA 400 mg/day or placebo for four months. Four tests of cognitive function were performed before and after supplementation. At study end, the DHA level in the blood rose 300% in the treated group. Statistical analysis showed a significant association between a higher level of DHA in the blood and better performance on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test The PPVT-III is an untimed, individual intelligence test, orally administered in 11 to 12 minutes or less. Extensively revised, this test measures an individual's receptive (hearing) vocabulary for Standard American English. , which measures listening comprehension and vocabulary. For each increase of 1% in blood DHA, percentile rank on the cognitive test improved by up to nine points. The findings suggest that boosting children's DHA levels may help promote optimal cognitive function.--Laura J. Ninger, ELS Reference * Ryan AS, Nelson EB. Assessing the effect of docosahexaenoic acid on cognitive functions in healthy, preschool children: a randomized ran·dom·ize tr.v. ran·dom·ized, ran·dom·iz·ing, ran·dom·iz·es To make random in arrangement, especially in order to control the variables in an experiment. , placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2008 May;47(4):355-62. |
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