Fish oil supplementation in early infancy modulates developing infant immune responses

Abstract

Postnatal fish oil supplementation increased infant n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) levels and associated with lowered allergen-specific Th2 responses and elevated polyclonal Th1 responses. Our results add to existing evidence of n-3 PUFA having immunomodulatory properties that are potentially allergy-protective.

Current Information and Asian Perspectives on Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Pregnancy, Lactation, and Infancy: Systematic Review and Practice Recommendations from an Early Nutrition Academy Workshop

“…Three of these studies found beneficial effects of supplementation on immune markers [101,102] or allergic diseases [103]. D'Vaz et al [102] randomized 420 term infants with a high risk of allergy to a daily supplement of fish oil (280 mg DHA, 100 mg EPA) or placebo from birth until 6 months of age. They found lower allergen-specific Th2 responses and elevated Th1 responses in the fish oil group, suggesting a potentially allergy-protective effect on immune function [102].…”

“…D'Vaz et al [102] randomized 420 term infants with a high risk of allergy to a daily supplement of fish oil (280 mg DHA, 100 mg EPA) or placebo from birth until 6 months of age. They found lower allergen-specific Th2 responses and elevated Th1 responses in the fish oil group, suggesting a potentially allergy-protective effect on immune function [102]. Improved immune parameter responses after LC-PUFA supplementation were also observed in formula-fed term infants at 16 weeks of age [101].…”

Developing Primary Intervention Strategies to Prevent Allergic Disease

“…The other major study (n=420) commenced fish oil supplementation much earlier, in the first week of life [65]. While the intervention increased n-3 PUFA levels and was associated with lower allergen-specific Th2 responses and elevated polyclonal Th1 responses by 6 months of age [66], there was no effect on the risk of eczema or other outcomes in the primary intention-to-treat analysis [65]. A lower risk of eczema and recurrent wheeze in the children who had higher n-3 PUFA levels suggest that there was still some immunomodulatory influence of these fatty acids.…”

Evidence for the essentiality of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid in the postnatal maternal and infant diet for the development of the infant’s immune system early in life

“…They reported several improvements in markers of immune function with fish oil supplementation during the first 6 months of life (Table 2) (D'Vaz et al 2012a). Among them, there was a suggested lower allergic response (lower production of IL-13) to house dust mite and a higher Th1 response (IFN-␥ and TNF-␣) after T-cell stimulation in the fish oil group compared with the placebo (D'Vaz et al 2012a), indicative of enhanced immune maturation.…”

“…The duration of the interventions varied from 4 weeks (1 month) to 12 months and 2 studies included infants at high risk of atopic diseases. Two published studies came from the same group in Australia (D'Vaz et al 2012a(D'Vaz et al , 2012b, 1 in France (Lapillonne et al 2014), 1 in Spain (Pastor et al 2006), 1 in the United States (Dallas) (Birch et al 2010), and 4 studies from the same group in Canada (Field et al 2000(Field et al , 2008a(Field et al , 2008b(Field et al , 2010. Of the 9 trials, markers of immune function or incidence of allergic and atopic diseases was the primary outcome of 5 trials, the secondary outcome of 2 trials, and this information was unspecified for 2 articles.…”