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Effects of prenatal micronutrient supplementation on school age child behavior (619.6)
Author(s) -
Bahnfleth Charlotte,
MurrayKolb Laura,
Schaefer Barbara,
Cole Pamela,
Khatry Subarna,
LeClerq Steven,
Christian Parul
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.619.6
Subject(s) - micronutrient , mood , medicine , placebo , folic acid , pregnancy , randomized controlled trial , pediatrics , psychiatry , biology , alternative medicine , pathology , genetics
The long‐term behavioral effects of prenatal micronutrient supplementation have yet to be explored thoroughly. We examined behavior in 7‐9 year old Nepali children (n=676) whose mothers received prenatal micronutrient supplementation as part of a double‐masked RCT. Also, since we previously reported that supplementation with iron‐folic acid (cIFA) during the preschool years resulted in higher demandingness at 7‐9 years, further analyses were conducted to determine if prenatal IFA conferred an added benefit to cIFA (n=334). Mothers were randomized to daily multiple micronutrient (MM); iron‐folic acid (IFA); IFA + zinc (IFAZn); placebo (PL). Child behavior was assessed on six dimensions (positive mood; negative mood; lively/active; sociability; sustained attention; demandingness) during two home observation periods. Differences in behavior ratings were examined relative to the PL for each supplementation group. In both unadjusted and adjusted analyses, children whose mothers had received IFA were more likely to have higher ratings of demandingness (p<0.05 for both) while they were more likely to have lower ratings of lively/activity (p<0.05 for both) compared to the PL group. IFAZn or MM did not have any effect on child behavior. In both unadjusted and adjusted analyses, those who received both prenatal IFA and cIFA were more likely to have higher ratings of sociability (p<0.05 for both) than those who had only received cIFA. Prenatal supplementation with IFA appears to impact child behavior in the long‐term. Grant Funding Source : Supported by NICHD and Gates Foundation