Association between maternal erythrocyte PUFAs during pregnancy and neurodevelopment in children at 2 years of age: a birth cohort study

Background: Previous studies on prenatal polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and children's neurodevelopment have shown inconsistent results, and evidence from the Asian population is scarce. Objective: To investigate the association between maternal erythrocyte PUFAs and neurodevelopment in children in the Chinese population. Methods: We included 242 mother-child pairs from the Yuexiu birth cohort. The composition of maternal erythrocyte fatty acids during pregnancy was measured by gas chromatography. Each PUFA was divided into 3 tertiles. Neurodevelopment in children was evaluated with the Ages and Stages Questionnaire at 2 years of age, including 5 domains of development: communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving, and personal-social skills. Results: Maternal eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) [OR (95% CI): 0.34 (0.15, 0.74) for tertile 2, and 0.31 (0.13, 0.70) for tertile 3] was associated with a reduced risk of potential developmental delay in gross motor skills. Conversely, arachidonic acid (AA) [OR (95% CI): 2.54 (1.17, 5.70) for tertile 3] was associated with an increased risk of potential developmental delay in personal-social skills. The ratio of AA/EPA [OR (95% CI): 2.64 (1.18, 6.15) for tertile 3] was associated with an increased risk of potential developmental delay in gross motor skills. No significant association was found between other PUFAs and neurodevelopment. Conclusion: This birth cohort has first shown a beneficial association between maternal EPA and gross motor skills of children. Meanwhile, maternal AA and the ratio of AA/EPA have negative associations with neurodevelopment in children.