Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34383914›Full record

SynthesisThe Journal of nutrition2021

Omega-3 Fatty Acid Dietary Supplements Consumed During Pregnancy and Lactation and Child Neurodevelopment: A Systematic Review.

Julie E H Nevins, Sharon M Donovan, Linda Snetselaar, Kathryn G Dewey, Rachel Novotny, Jamie Stang, Elsie M Taveras, Ronald E Kleinman, Regan L Bailey, Ramkripa Raghavan and 9 more

Open access · greenAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in The Journal of nutrition, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
54citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
10.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

54 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 98 citations in OpenAlex.

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  6. MaternalNutrients · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

19 authors at 9 institutions in 1 country.

Julie E H NevinsPanum Group, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9414-320X
Sharon M DonovanDepartment of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9785-4189
Linda SnetselaarDepartment of Epidemiology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-6615-0779
Kathryn G DeweyDepartment of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4185-3451
Rachel NovotnyDepartment of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Manoa, HI, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-9503-9471
Jamie StangDivision of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2607-190X
Elsie M TaverasDepartment of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6158-2807
Ronald E KleinmanDepartment of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Regan L BaileyDepartment of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0181-6223
Ramkripa RaghavanPanum Group, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2989-3538
Sara R Scinto-MadonichPanum Group, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7922-5146
Sudha VenkatramananPanum Group, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3837-1275
Gisela ButeraPanum Group, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3976-0018
Nancy TerryNIH Library, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3884-8379
Jean AltmanOffice of Nutrition Guidance and Analysis, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, Alexandria, VA, USA.
Meghan AdlerOffice of Nutrition Guidance and Analysis, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, Alexandria, VA, USA.
Julie E ObbagyNutrition Evidence Systematic Review team, Office of Nutrition Guidance and Analysis, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, Alexandria, VA, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-8116-9622
Eve E StoodyOffice of Nutrition Guidance and Analysis, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, Alexandria, VA, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-2510-9005
Janet de JesusOffice of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, HHS, United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Alexandria, VA, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4025-0675
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion · USHarvard University · USPurdue University West Lafayette · USUnited States National Library of Medicine · USUniversity of California, Davis · USUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa · USUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · USUniversity of Iowa · USUniversity of Minnesota · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMaternal nutrition during pregnancy and lactation has profound effects on the development and lifelong health of the child. Long-chain PUFAs are particularly important for myelination and the development of vision during the perinatal period.

objectivesWe conducted a systematic review to examine the relationship between supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy and/or lactation and neurodevelopment in children, to inform the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee.

methodsWe identified articles on omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in pregnant and lactating women that included measures of neurodevelopment in their children (0-18 y) by searching PubMed, CENTRAL, Embase, and CINAHL Plus. After dual screening articles for inclusion, we qualitatively synthesized and graded the strength of evidence using pre-established criteria for assessing risk of bias, consistency, directness, precision, and generalizability.

resultsWe included 33 articles from 15 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 1 prospective cohort study. Of the 8 RCTs that delivered omega-3 fatty acid dietary supplements during pregnancy alone (200-2200 mg/d DHA and 0-1100 mg/d EPA for approximately 20 wk), 5 studies reported ≥1 finding that supplementation improved measures of cognitive development in the infant or child by 6%-11% (P < 0.05), but all 8 studies also reported ≥1 nonsignificant (P > 0.05) result. There was inconsistent or insufficient evidence for other outcomes (language, social-emotional, physical, motor, or visual development; academic performance; risks of attention deficit disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, or depression) and for supplementation during lactation or both pregnancy and lactation. Populations with a lower socioeconomic status and adolescents were underrepresented and studies lacked racial and ethnic diversity.

conclusionsLimited evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy may result in favorable cognitive development in the child. There was insufficient evidence to evaluate the effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation on other developmental outcomes.

Indexed as

Fatty Acids, Omega-3AdolescentBreast FeedingChildDietary SupplementsFatty Acids, UnsaturatedFemaleHumansInfantLactationPregnancyFatty Acids, Omega-3Fatty Acids, Unsaturatedanxietyattention deficit disorderattention-deficit hyperactivity disorderautism spectrum disordercognitiondepressionlactationomega-3 fatty acidspregnancysystematic review

Identifiers

PMID34383914
PMCPMC8764572
OpenAlexW3190845296

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.