Children born prematurely who received a supplement containing a combination of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids had better vision at two and a half years.
- Swedish researchers gave extremely premature babies a supplement containing the omega-6 fatty acid AA (arachidonic acid) and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA.
- At two and a half years, the treated infants, whether or not they had suffered from retinopathy of prematurity, had better vision.
- “The supplement also appears to have improved the brain’s ability to interpret visual impressions.”
When an infant is born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, the development of the small blood vessels in the retina is not complete. Thus, the child suffers from retinopathy of prematurity. “In the most severe cases, the rapid and abnormal growth of small blood vessels can lead to retinal detachment and loss of vision,” noted the MSD Manual.
A supplement combining AA omega-6 fatty acid and DHA omega-3 fatty acid
In a recent study, published The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, in the journal researchers from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) showed that premature babies who received fatty acids had better vision. To reach this conclusion, they recruited 178 extremely premature infants, born before the 28th week of pregnancy, in the neonatal departments of the university hospitals of Gothenburg, Lund and Stockholm between 2016 and 2019.
About half of the children received supplements containing the omega-6 fatty acid AA (arachidonic acid) and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). “Neither AA nor DHA are included in supplements currently routinely given to extremely premature babies immediately after birth,” according to scientists. At the age of two and a half, the young participants completed eye tests. “We assessed visual acuity, refraction, strabismus and nystagmus (an involuntary rhythmic movement of the eyes),” the team said.
Prematurity: the supplement improves visual development when the child is older
The results showed that children who received the supplement containing the combination of fatty acids had an improvement in their visual function, regardless of whether they had previously had retinopathy of prematurity. “The improvement in visual development is therefore not only due to the beneficial effect on the retina. The supplement also appears to have improved the brain’s ability to interpret visual impressions,” explained Pia Lundgren, author of the work, in a statement. “In continuing research, on the same group of children, we will also look more closely at cognitive and neurological development, which will be particularly interesting.”