Observational studyEuropean journal of nutrition2015
Choline concentrations are lower in postnatal plasma of preterm infants than in cord plasma.
Observational study in European journal of nutrition, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02509728 (Nahrungsergänzung Mit Cholin- Und Docosahexaensäure Bei Sehr Unreifen Frühgeborenen), which is not on this map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
Nahrungsergänzung Mit Cholin- Und Docosahexaensäure Bei Sehr Unreifen Frühgeborenen
Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 41 citations in OpenAlex.
- The use of choline supplementation in premature newborns: a systematic review.Revista paulista de pediatria : orgao oficial da Sociedade de Pediatria de Sao Paulo · 2025Pooled it
- Choline, Neurological Development and Brain Function: A Systematic Review Focusing on the First 1000 Days.Nutrients · 2020Pooled it
- Choline supplementation in preterm infants: effects of four different supplements on choline plasma concentrations.European journal of nutrition · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Choline supplementation for preterm infants: metabolism of four Deuterium-labeled choline compounds.European journal of nutrition · 2023Trial
- Differential metabolism of choline supplements in adult volunteers.European journal of nutrition · 2022Trial
- Combined choline and DHA supplementation: a randomized controlled trial.European journal of nutrition · 2020Trial
- Choline and polyunsaturated fatty acids in preterm infants' maternal milk.European journal of nutrition · 2017Trial
- Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Extremely Preterm Infants with Low Plasma Choline.Pediatric research · 2026Article
- Depressive Symptoms Associated with Decreased Choline Intake in Lactating Mothers of Preterm Infants.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Article
- Choline in Adolescent Pregnancy: The Impact on Fetal Brain Development and Long-Term Cognitive Outcomes of Offspring.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Review
- Article
- Is choline deficiency an unrecognized factor in necrotizing enterocolitis of preterm infants?Pediatric research · 2024Review
- Evidence and Perspectives for Choline Supplementation during Parenteral Nutrition-A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Article
- Trimethylamine N-Oxide and Its Precursors Are Associated with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Pre-Eclampsia in the Boston Birth Cohort.Current developments in nutrition · 2022Article
- Choline Kinetics in Neonatal Liver, Brain and Lung-Lessons from a Rodent Model for Neonatal Care.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Choline in cystic fibrosis: relations to pancreas insufficiency, enterohepatic cycle, PEMT and intestinal microbiota.European journal of nutrition · 2021Review
- Serum choline in extremely preterm infants declines with increasing parenteral nutrition.European journal of nutrition · 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
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCholine is essential to human development, particularly of the brain in the form of phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and acetylcholine, for bile and lipoprotein formation, and as a methyl group donator. Choline is actively transported into the fetus, and maternal supply correlates with cognitive outcome. Interruption of placental supply may therefore impair choline homeostasis in preterm infants.
objectiveDetermination of postnatal plasma concentrations of choline and its derivatives betaine and dimethylglycine (DMG) in preterm infants compared to cord and maternal blood matched for postmenstrual age (PMA).
designWe collected plasma of very low-birth-weight infants undergoing neonatal intensive care (n = 162), cord plasma of term and preterm infants (n = 176, 24-42-week PMA), serum of parturients (n = 36), and plasma of healthy premenopausal women (n = 40). Target metabolites were analyzed with tandem mass spectrometry and reported as median (25th/75th percentiles).
resultsCord plasma choline concentration was 41.4 (31.8-51.2) µmol/L and inversely correlated with PMA. In term but not in preterm infants, cord plasma choline was lower in girls than in boys. Prenatal glucocorticoid treatment did not affect choline levels in cord plasma, whereas betaine was decreased and DMG increased. In parturients and non-pregnant women, choline concentrations were 14.1 (10.3-16.9) and 8.8 (5.7-11.2) µmol/L, respectively, whereas betaine was lowest in parturients. After delivery, preterm infant plasma choline decreased to 20.8 (16.0-27.6) µmol/L within 48 h. Betaine and DMG correlated with plasma choline in all groups.
conclusionsIn preterm infants, plasma choline decreases to 50 % of cord plasma concentrations, reflecting choline undernourishment and postnatal metabolic adaptation, and potentially contributing to impaired outcome.
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