ReviewNutrients2012
Benefits of docosahexaenoic acid, folic acid, vitamin D and iodine on foetal and infant brain development and function following maternal supplementation during pregnancy and lactation.
Review in Nutrients, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 43 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
43 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 132 citations in OpenAlex.
- Potential Neuroprotective Effects of Docosahexaenoic Acid on Glutamate-Induced Neurotoxicity: A Systematic Review of Pre-Clinical Studies.Nutrients · 2026Pooled it
- Trial
- Factors associated with plasma n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid levels in Tanzanian infants.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2020Trial
- "GET-UP" study rationale and protocol: a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effects of reduced sitting on toddlers' cognitive development.BMC pediatrics · 2016Trial
- Article
- The potential effects of hypothetical PM2.5 interventions on childhood autism in different neighborhood socioeconomic contexts.American journal of epidemiology · 2026Article
- Medical nutrition therapy in physiological pregnancy and in pregnancy complicated by obesity and/or diabetes: SID-AMD recommendations.Acta diabetologica · 2026Article
- Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis as a Potential Approach for Investigation of Cerebral Accumulation of Docosahexaenoic Acid: Previous Milestones and Recent Trends.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Characteristics, Physiopathology and Management of Dyslipidemias in Pregnancy: A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Clinical cause of neonatal mortality in Iran: analysis of the national Iranian Maternal And Neonatal network.BMJ paediatrics open · 2024Article
- External Disruption of Ocular DevelopmentThe Yale journal of biology and medicine · 2024Review
- Review
- Maternal seafood consumption and fetal growth: a birth cohort study in urban China.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2023Article
- Metabolic Interaction Between Folate, Vitamin B12, and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Pregnancy.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Article
- A Role for Data Science in Precision Nutrition and Early Brain Development.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Review
- Exposure to environmental contaminants and folic acid supplementation intergenerationally impact fetal skeleton development through the paternal lineage in a rat model.Frontiers in toxicology · 2022Article
- Folate, Vitamin B12, and Homocysteine Levels in Women With Neural Tube Defect-Affected Pregnancy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Frontiers in nutrition · 2022Article
- Maternal Folic Acid-Containing Supplement Use in Relation to Offspring Motor Function. A Prospective Study of 503 Mother-Child Dyads.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Article
- Precise Dose of Folic Acid Supplementation Is Essential for Embryonic Heart Development in Zebrafish.Biology · 2021Article
- Mapping of folic acid in the children brainstem.Anatomy & cell biology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
unlabelledScientific literature is increasingly reporting on dietary deficiencies in many populations of some nutrients critical for foetal and infant brain development and function. PURPOSE: To highlight the potential benefits of maternal supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and other important complimentary nutrients, including vitamin D, folic acid and iodine during pregnancy and/or breast feeding for foetal and/or infant brain development and/or function.
methodsEnglish language systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, cross-sectional and case-control studies were obtained through searches on MEDLINE and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials from January 2000 through to February 2012 and reference lists of retrieved articles. Reports were selected if they included benefits and harms of maternal supplementation of DHA, vitamin D, folic acid or iodine supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation.
resultsMaternal DHA intake during pregnancy and/or lactation can prolong high risk pregnancies, increase birth weight, head circumference and birth length, and can enhance visual acuity, hand and eye co-ordination, attention, problem solving and information processing. Vitamin D helps maintain pregnancy and promotes normal skeletal and brain development. Folic acid is necessary for normal foetal spine, brain and skull development. Iodine is essential for thyroid hormone production necessary for normal brain and nervous system development during gestation that impacts childhood function.
conclusionMaternal supplementation within recommended safe intakes in populations with dietary deficiencies may prevent many brain and central nervous system malfunctions and even enhance brain development and function in their offspring.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.