Fish oil supplementation from 9 to 18 months of age affects the insulin-like growth factor axis in a sex-specific manner in Danish infants

• Published in: British journal of nutrition 2016-03, Vol.115 (5), p.782-790
• Main Authors: Damsgaard, Camilla T., Harsløf, Laurine B. S., Andersen, Anders D., Hellgren, Lars I., Michaelsen, Kim F., Lauritzen, Lotte
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Babies; Body Mass Index; Cross-Sectional Studies; Denmark; Dietary Supplements; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Energy Intake; Erythrocytes; European Continental Ancestry Group; Female; Fish oils; Fish Oils - administration & dosage; Human and Clinical Nutrition; Humans; Infant; Infants; Insulin; Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein 3 - metabolism; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - metabolism; Male; Plant Oils - administration & dosage; Sex Factors; Studies; Sunflower Oil
• ISSN: 0007-1145; 1475-2662
• DOI: 10.1017/S0007114515004973

Several studies have investigated the effects of fish oil (FO) on infant growth, but little is known about the effects of FO and sex on insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), the main regulator of growth in childhood. We explored whether FO v. sunflower oil (SO) supplementation from 9 to 18 months of age affected IGF-1 and its binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) and whether the potential effects were sex specific. Danish infants (n 115) were randomly allocated to 5 ml/d FO (1·2 g/d n-3 long-chain PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA)) or SO. We measured growth, IGF-1, IGFBP-3 and erythrocyte EPA, a biomarker of n-3 LCPUFA intake and status, at 9 and 18 months. Erythrocyte EPA increased strongly with FO compared with SO (P