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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Davis, California » Western Human Nutrition Research Center » Obesity and Metabolism Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #385147
Research Project: Improving Public Health by Understanding Metabolic and Bio-Behavioral Effects of Following Recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans

Location: Obesity and Metabolism Research

Title: Thiamine supplementation holds neurocognitive benefits for breastfed infants during the first year of life

Author
item MEASELLE, JEFFREY - University Of Oregon
item BALDWIN, DARE - University Of Oregon
item GALLANT, JELISA - Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia
item CHAN, KATHLEEN - Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia
item GREEN, TIM - South Australia Health And Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)
item WIERINGA, FRANK - Institute For Research And Development (IRD)
item BORATH, MAM - Ministry Of Planning-Cambodia
item SOPHONNEARY, PRAK - Cambodia Ministry Of Health
item HAMPEL, DANIELA - University Of California, Davis
item Shahab-Ferdows, Setti
item Allen, Lindsay - A
item KROEUN, HOU - Helen Keller International (HKI), United States
item WHITFIELD, KYLY - Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia

Submitted to: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/21/2021
Publication Date: 6/7/2021
Citation: Measelle, J.R., Baldwin, D.A., Gallant, J., Chan, K., Green, T.J., Wieringa, F.T., Borath, M., Sophonneary, P., Hampel, D., Shahab-Ferdows, S., Allen, L.H., Kroeun, H., Whitfield, K.C. 2021. Thiamine supplementation holds neurocognitive benefits for breastfed infants during the first year of life. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14610.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14610

Interpretive Summary: Women who are consuming rice as a main dietary staple can have insufficient thiamine intakes. If they are breast-feeding, their infants are also at risk of thiamine deficiency, which can lead to physical and cognitive impairments. Here, we investigated the impact different amount of maternal thiamine supplementation on infants’ cognitive, motor, and language development across the first year. Healthy mothers of exclusively breastfed newborns were recruited in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. Two weeks after giving birth, the mothers (n=335) were randomized to one of four treatments, receiving one capsule/day with varying amounts of thiamine for 22 weeks (0 mg, 1.2 mg, 2.4 mg, and 10 mg). At 2-, 12-, 24- and 52-50 weeks of age, the infants were assessed with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) and the Caregiver Reported Early Development Instrument (CREDI). The results indicated that by 6 months of age, the highest maternal thiamine dose (10 mg/day) was beneficial to the infants’ language development, but generally not for motor or visual reception development. While the infants generally tested well with comparative results to US norms by 6 months, they revealed a significant decrease in all cognitive domains following trial completion, indicating that nutritional interventions beyond 6 months may be necessary.

Technical Abstract: Women reliant on rice-heavy diets can have inadequate thiamine intakes, placing breastfed infants at risk of thiamine deficiency and, in turn, physical and cognitive impairments. We investigated the impact of maternal thiamine supplementation doses on infants’ cognitive, motor, and language development across the first year. In this double-blind, four-parallel arm, randomized controlled trial, healthy mothers of exclusively breastfed newborn infants were recruited in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. At 2-weeks postnatal, women (n=335) were randomized to one of four treatment groups to consume one capsule/day with varying amounts of thiamine for 22 weeks: 0 mg, 1.2 mg, 2.4 mg, and 10 mg. At 2-, 12-, 24- and 52-50 weeks of age, infants were assessed with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL) and the Caregiver Reported Early Development Instrument (CREDI). Multiple regression and mixed effects modeling suggest that by 6 months of age, the highest maternal thiamine dose (10 mg/day) held significant benefits for infants’ language development, but generally not for motor or visual reception development. Despite having achieved standardized scores on the MSEL that approximated US norms by 6 months, infants showed a significant drop in all cognitive domains following trial completion, indicating that nutritional interventions beyond 6 months may be necessary.