Breastfeeding's protection against illness-induced anorexia is mediated partially by docosahexaenoic acid

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition 2008-01, Vol.62 (1), p.32-38
• Main Authors: Lopez-Alarcon, M, Garza, C, Prado, M. del, Garcia-Zuniga, P.A, Barbosa, L
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anorexia; Anorexia nervosa; Babies; Biological and medical sciences; Bottle Feeding; Breast Feeding; Breast milk; Breastfeeding & lactation; Clinical Nutrition; Complications and side effects; Cytokines; Diet therapy; dietary supplements; Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis Vaccine; docosahexaenoic acid; Docosahexaenoic Acids - immunology; Docosahexaenoic Acids - pharmacology; Eating disorders; energy intake; Energy Intake - immunology; Energy Intake - physiology; Epidemiology; Erythrocytes; Erythrocytes - chemistry; Essential fatty acids; Fatty acids; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Haemophilus Vaccines; Health aspects; Humans; illness-induced anorexia; immune response; Immunization; Infant; infant formulas; infant nutrition; Infants; Infection; Infections; interleukin-1; interleukin-1 beta; Interleukin-1beta - blood; Interleukin-1beta - immunology; Interleukin-1beta - physiology; Internal Medicine; Male; Medical sciences; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Milk, Human - immunology; Milk, Human - physiology; Nutrition; Nutritional aspects; Obesity; Observational studies; omega-3 fatty acids; original-article; Pneumonia - immunology; protective effect; Public Health; Risk factors; tumor necrosis factor-alpha; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - blood; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - immunology; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - physiology; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602686

Objective: To test whether breastfeeding's protection against anorectic responses to infection is mediated by n-3 fatty acids' attenuation of interleukin (IL)-1β and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α. Design: Experimental and observational studies. Setting: A hospital-based study was conducted. Subjects: Five groups of infants were followed; three in the experimental and two in the observational study. Methods: Breast-fed- (BF-1), DHA-supplemented formula- (SFF-1), and non-DHA-supplemented formula-fed (FF-1) infants were studied before and after immunization against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and haemophilus influenzae type b. Pre- and post-immunization energy intakes (EI) and serum IL-1β and TNFα were measured. The two other groups, breast-fed (BF-2) and formula-fed (FF-2) infants with pneumonia were followed throughout hospitalization. EI, IL-1β and TNFα were measured at admission and discharge. Baseline erythrocyte fatty acid contents were determined. Results: Both cytokines increased following immunization in all feeding groups. Post-immunization reductions in EI of SFF-1 infants (-11.85%, CI95=-23.3, 1.4%, P=0.07) were intermediate to those observed in BF-1 (-5.24.2%, CI95=-15.2, 5.9%, P=0.27) and FF-1 infants (-184.4%, CI95=-29%, -5.4%, P=0.02). In the observational study, TNF (17.28.3 vs 3.43.0 ng/l, P=0.001) and decreases in EI (-3143 vs -1531%, CI95=-34%, 0.001%, P=0.056) were greater in FF-2 than in BF-2 infants at admission. Breastfeeding duration was associated positively with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) erythrocyte contents, and negatively with admission TNFα. Decreases in EIs were associated with IL-1β and TNFα concentrations. Conclusion: Reductions in EI following immunologic or infectious stimuli were associated with increases in IL-1β and TNFα. Those reductions were attenuated by breastfeeding, and mediated in part by tissue DHA.