An abundance of seafood consumption studies presents new opportunities to evaluate effects on neurocognitive development

• Published in: Prostaglandins, leukotrienes and essential fatty acids leukotrienes and essential fatty acids, 2019-12, Vol.151, p.8-13
• Main Authors: Spiller, Philip, Hibbeln, Joseph R., Myers, Gary, Vannice, Gretchen, Golding, Jean, Crawford, Michael A, Strain, J.J., Connor, Sonja L., Brenna, J. Thomas, Kris-Etherton, Penny, Holub, Bruce J., Harris, William S., Lands, Bill, McNamara, Robert K., Tlusty, Michael F., Salem, Norman, Carlson, Susan E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Child; Child Development - drug effects; Child Health; Fatty Acids, Omega-3 - pharmacology; Female; Humans; Mental Processes - drug effects; Nutrition Policy; Pregnancy; Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena - drug effects; Seafood
• ISSN: 0952-3278; 1532-2823
• DOI: 10.1016/j.plefa.2019.10.001

•Here we provide the history, context and rationale for conducting systematic reviews of evidence evaluating whether seafood eaten during pregnancy and childhood affects children's neurocognitive development.•Systematic-type reviews conducted through 2014 by public health entities in the United States, Canada, and Europe indicated that seafood eaten during pregnancy likely benefits neurocognition based on results from between 3 and 10 seafood consumption studies. Currently, 44 reports of more than 125,000 subjects providing a significant opportunity to corroborate, expand on, or revise these conclusions.•It is plausible that the nutritional composition of seafood, including but not limited to omega-3 fatty acids, provide beneficial effects on neurocognition while the presence of mercury in seafood provides adverse effects.•The studies are seafood consumption studies, which inherently provide "net" outcomes that take into account nutritional benefits, if any, and adverse effects from neurotoxicants, if any. These types of studies can provide a more complete and accurate picture than evaluations of individual seafood components, which often give results inconsistent with the whole food results.•A clear understanding of the effects of seafood consumption on neurocognition can have significant public health implications. The relationship between seafood eaten during pregnancy and neurocognition in offspring has been the subject of considerable scientific study for over 25 years. Evaluation of this question led two scientific advisory committees to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations with the World Health Organization (FAO/WHO), Health Canada, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conclude through 2014 that seafood consumed by pregnant women is likely to benefit the neurocognitive development of their children. The evidence they reviewed included between four and ten studies of seafood consumption during pregnancy that reported beneficial associations. In contrast there are now 29 seafood consumption studies available describing over 100,000 mothers-child pairs and 15 studies describing over 25,000 children who ate seafood. A systematic review of these studies using Nutrition Evaluation Systematic Review methodology is warranted to determine whether recent research corroborates, builds on, or significantly alters the previous conclusions.