There is compelling evidence that the fish oil component DHA, or docosahexaenoic acid, may help babies with ADHD, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. However, there is controversy about diagnosing babies with ADHD, and the scientific evidence for benefits of DHA is limited. Most studies examined the advantages of supplementing DHA to moms during pregnancy. If you have concerns about your baby, seek your doctor's advice.
Diagnosing Babies
The magazine "ADDitude: Living Well with ADD" ran an article in its August 2007 issue addressing the question of how young is too young to diagnose ADHD in children. Doctors are often reluctant to diagnose ADHD in preschool children, much less babies. It's viewed as a disorder of elementary school children. There are few studies about diagnosing preschoolers with ADHD, and even fewer dealing with infants. However, the resounding success of the Preschool ADHD Treatment Study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health in treating ADHD preschoolers with behavioral therapy promises to encourage future infant research.
DHA Benefits
A July 2004 study published in "Child Development" tested the effects of varying maternal DHA consumption and subsequent DHA blood levels in their infants. The infant DHA levels were then studied in relation to the babies' cognitive development. Two sets of mothers were given differing amounts of DHA by providing them with eggs from chickens fed DHA-rich fish meal. The researchers tested the infants' attention span using a test called "infant look duration." The results showed that infants from the moms who consumed the most DHA had significantly longer attention spans and DHA levels.
Toddler Benefits
A follow-up study performed on toddlers of moms supplemented with DHA during pregnancy was published in the August 2009 issue of "Development Neuropsychology." The researchers assessed maternal levels of DHA at birth and toddler free-play attention at ages 12 months and 18 months. Four measures were tested, including total duration of looking, number of episodes of inattention, average length of looks at the toys, and total number of looks. The researchers reported that toddlers of mothers with high DHA tested better on all measures than did toddlers of mothers with low DHA.
Supplementing Babies
Researchers reporting in the September 2009 issue of "Child Development" noted that breast milk is a natural source of DHA, and that breast-feeding is often associated with superior cognitive skills compared to feeding of formula without DHA. The researchers tested whether supplementing infants with DHA-enriched formula would improve their problem solving skills compared with babies fed regular formula. Problem solving skills are directly related to ADHD concerns, because long attention spans are necessary for problem solving. The researchers found that at age 9 months, both breast-fed and DHA supplemented babies performed better than controls on problem solving tests.
References
- "ADDitude: Living Well with ADD"; Preschool-Age ADHD Children: Too Young for a Diagnosis; Arlene Schusteff; August 2007
- "Child Development"; Maternal DHA and the Development of Attention in Infancy and Toddlerhood; John Colombo, et al.; July 2004
- "Developmental Neuropsychology"; Maternal DHA Levels and Toddler Free-Play Attention; Kathleen Kannass, et al.; August 2009
- "Child Development"; Three Randomized Controlled Trials of Early Long-Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Supplementation on Means-End Problem Solving in 9-Month-Olds; James Dover, et al.; September 2009
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