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Nutrition and neurodevelopment in children: focus on NUTRIMENTHE project.

European journal of nutrition
December 1, 2013
Tania Anjos et al. (20 authors)
Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tReviewHuman Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to evaluate the association between gestational nutrition, including iron, and brain development in children.

Results Summary

The abstract suggests that iron is one of the micronutrients with credible evidence linking it to brain development in healthy children, though single-nutrient supplementation is less adequate than complex formulae. Long-term impacts on neurodevelopment require further investigation.

Population

Pregnant women and their children.

Effective Dosage

Not available

Duration

Not specified

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (10)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
early nutrition
neutral
later cognitive performance
-
-
affects
#1
diet of mothers, infants, and children
neutral
later mental performance
-
-
could affect
#2
micronutrients
increase
health
pregnant women
-
positive effect
#3
pregnant women eating well
increase
child's cognitive and behavioural outcomes
pregnant women
-
maximise
#4
gestational nutrition
neutral
brain development
healthy children
-
association
#5
folate
neutral
brain development
healthy children
-
more credible association
#6
n-3 fatty acids
neutral
brain development
healthy children
-
more credible association
#7
iron
neutral
brain development
healthy children
-
more credible association
#8
single-nutrient supplementation
decrease
-
-
-
less adequate
#9
supplementation with more complex formulae
increase
-
-
-
more adequate
#10
Abstract

There is growing evidence that early nutrition affects later cognitive performance. The idea that the diet of mothers, infants, and children could affect later mental performance has major implications for public health practice and policy development and for our understanding of human biology as well as for food product development, economic progress, and future wealth creation. To date, however, much of the evidence is from animal, retrospective studies and short-term nutritional intervention studies in humans. The positive effect of micronutrients on health, especially of pregnant women eating well to maximise their child's cognitive and behavioural outcomes, is commonly acknowledged. The current evidence of an association between gestational nutrition and brain development in healthy children is more credible for folate, n-3 fatty acids, and iron. Recent findings highlight the fact that single-nutrient supplementation is less adequate than supplementation with more complex formulae. However, the optimal content of micronutrient supplementation and whether there is a long-term impact on child's neurodevelopment needs to be investigated further. Moreover, it is also evident that future studies should take into account genetic heterogeneity when evaluating nutritional effects and also nutritional recommendations. The objective of the present review is to provide a background and update on the current knowledge linking nutrition to cognition and behaviour in children, and to show how the large collaborative European Project NUTRIMENTHE is working towards this aim.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
AdolescentBrainChildChild DevelopmentChild Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaChild, PreschoolCognitionDietDietary SupplementsFemaleHumansInfantMaternal Nutritional Physiological PhenomenaMicronutrientsPregnancyPrenatal Care
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality80/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations89
Citations/Year7.4
Relative Citation Ratio3.52
NIH Percentile88.1%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.95
Weight Score1.69
Normalized Score0.66
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