Daily supplement use and brain function in healthy children

A daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may help improve brain function in healthy children

Vitamins and minerals are essential for optimal neural performance. However, national dietary surveys continue to show that a high percentage of adults and children suffer from deficiencies in one or more vitamins and minerals.

A study published in the November 2008 British Journal of Nutrition examined the effects of multivitamin and multimineral supplements on brain function in children. The study involved 81 healthy children between the ages of 8 and 14. The children were randomly assigned to receive a daily children’s multivitamin and multimineral supplement or a placebo.

During twelve weeks of supplementation, the children were given a series of tests to assess brain function. The children who received daily supplements performed better on two tests of attention than did the children who received placebos. Even more surprising was that the improvements in attention scores were seen within a few hours after administering the first vitamin and mineral dose. Mood, another outcome the authors were researching, was not significantly affected by the supplement.

These results suggest that multivitamin and multimineral supplementation may help to improve brain function in healthy children. However, it is impossible to determine whether the improvement in brain function in the children who took the daily supplement was due to a single ingredient in the supplement or whether it was due to the interaction of multiple vitamins and/or minerals. While additional research will be necessary to further elucidate this point, it may be time to reconsider the role of daily multivitamins in maintaining childhood health.

Source: Cognitive and mood effects in healthy children during 12 weeks' supplementation with multi-vitamin/minerals, Haskell et al, Br J Nutr 2008 Nov;100(5):1086-96

Source: USANA Health Sciences

American Academy of Pediatrics increases vitamin D recommendations

On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a press release regarding a new clinical report titled "Prevention of Rickets and Vitamin D Deficiency in Infants, Children, and Adolescents." In this new report, the AAP has updated the amount of vitamin D they formally recommend for children from 200 IU per day to 400 IU per day.

"We are doubling the recommended amount of vitamin D children need each day because evidence has shown this could have life-long health benefits," said Frank Greer, MD, FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Nutrition and co-author of the report. "Supplementation is important because most children will not get enough vitamin D through diet alone."

This updated recommendation is largely based on data from clinical trials performed since 2003 (when the original recommendation of 200 IU per day was given). This new data has demonstrated not only a wide safety margin for vitamin D supplementation, but also a surprising occurrence of vitamin D deficiency, particularly in exclusively breastfed infants who are not supplemented with vitamin D.

"Breastfeeding is the best source of nutrition for infants. However, because of vitamin D deficiencies in the maternal diet, which affect the vitamin D in a mother's milk, it is important that breastfed infants receive supplements of vitamin D," said Carol Wagner, MD, FAAP, member of the AAP Section on Breastfeeding Executive Committee and co-author of the report. "Until it is determined what the vitamin D requirements of the lactating mother-infant dyad are, we must ensure that the breastfeeding infant receives an adequate supply of vitamin D through a supplement of 400 IU per day."

Quotations taken from the formal AAP press release available at http://www.aap.org/pressroom/nce/nce08vitamind.htm

To review the new clinical report in its entirety, please visit http://www.aap.org/new/VitaminDreport.pdf

Maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy influences childhood bone mass

New research shows that pregnant mothers with inadequate vitamin D levels may negatively influence the long-term bone health of their children.

Vitamin D status is often poor in women of childbearing age, and evidence suggests that the risk of bone fracture (due to osteoporosis) in adulthood could be determined partly by environmental factors during pregnancy and early childhood. A recent study investigated the effect of maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy on childhood skeletal growth.

In a longitudinal study, researchers studied 198 children born in 1991 and 1992. Body build, nutrition, and vitamin D status of the mothers were examined during pregnancy, and the children were examined at age 9 to correlate the original maternal characteristics to their current body size and bone mass.

Forty-nine (31%) mothers had insufficient vitamin D levels, while another 28 (18%) had deficient levels during late pregnancy. Inadequate vitamin D in mothers during late pregnancy was associated with reduced whole-body and lumbar spine bone mineral content in children at age 9.

Maternal vitamin D insufficiency is common during pregnancy and now looks to be associated with reduced bone-mineral accumulation in offspring during childhood. Vitamin D supplementation of pregnant women, especially during winter months, could lead to improved bone health and a long-term reduction in the risk of osteoporosis in their children.

Source: Maternal vitamin D status during pregnancy and childhood bone mass at age 9 years: a longitudinal study, Javaid et al, Lancet 2006 Jan 7;367(9504):36-43

Fish oil intake during pregnancy may be associated with lower asthma incidence during childhood

New research has shown a significant correlation between fish oil intake during pregnancy and asthma incidence during childhood. Children whose mothers supplemented with fish oil during pregnancy were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with childhood asthma than children from non-supplementing mothers.

Current evidence suggests that asthma development may be associated with maternal intake of marine omega-3 fatty acids during pregnancy. A recent study was conducted to examine whether an increase in omega-3 fatty acid intake during pregnancy could affect risk of asthma in their offspring.

A population-based sample of 533 women with normal pregnancies were randomly assigned 2:1:1 to receive either four one-gram fish oil capsules/day providing 2.7 grams of omega-3 fatty acids, four similar looking one-gram capsules/day with just olive oil, or no capsules at all.

During the 16 years that passed since childbirth, the rate of asthma incidence was reduced by 63% and the rate of allergic asthma was reduced by 87% in the fish oil group as compared to the olive oil group.

Assuming that the intake of olive oil had no significant influence one way or another, these results support the theory that increased fish oil omega-3 fatty acid supplementation in late pregnancy may provide important preventive potential in relation to childhood asthma development. Additional studies on this subject are currently in progress, which should shed more light on the mechanism behind this promising discovery.

Source: Fish oil intake compared with olive oil intake in late pregnancy and asthma in the offspring: 16 y of registry-based follow-up from a randomized controlled trial, Olsen et al, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 88, No. 1, 167-175, July 2008

Low levels of vitamin D are common among healthy children‏

Vitamin D is essential for normal growth and development in children, yet many children who are otherwise healthy may have inadequate blood levels of vitamin D. A vitamin D deficiency in childhood may lead to muscle weakness, defective bone mineralization, and rickets.

A study recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that many children may be at risk for a vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D is essential for normal growth, development, and immune function.

Researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia assessed dietary and supplemental vitamin D intake, body mass, and blood levels of vitamin D in 382 healthy children (ages 6 to 21) living in the northeastern U.S. More than half of the children had low blood levels of vitamin D, with 55 percent having inadequate vitamin D blood levels and 68 percent having low blood levels of vitamin D in the wintertime. African Americans, children 9 and older, and those with low dietary vitamin D intake were most likely to have reduced serum vitamin D levels.

"The best indicator of a person's vitamin D status is the blood level of a vitamin D compound called 25-hydroxyvitamin D," the lead investigator noted. "Vitamin D deficiency remains an under-recognized problem overall, and is not well studied in children."

The researchers added that further study is needed to determine appropriate blood levels of vitamin D in children, and also suggested a review of the current recommendations for vitamin D intake.

Source: Risk factors for low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations in otherwise healthy children and adolescents, Weng et al, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, July 2007, 86(1):150-8.