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Maternal nutrition, infants and children

The effect of a 1-year multiple micronutrient or n-3 fatty acid fortified food intervention on morbidity in Indian school children

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, pages 452–458 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Background/Objectives:

Few studies have shown that supplementation with micronutrients (MNs) or n-3 fatty acids may have health benefits such as reduced morbidity in schoolchildren. The effect of a combination of these nutrients has never been investigated. This study aimed to determine the effect of a combination of two different doses of MN and n-3 fatty acids on morbidity in schoolchildren in Bangalore, India.

Subjects/Methods:

In all 598 children (6–10 years) received foods fortified with either high (100% recommended dietary allowance) or low (15% recommended dietary allowance) MN, combined with either high (900 mg α-linolenic acid (ALA) plus 100 mg docosahexaenoic acid) or low (140 mg ALA) n-3 fatty acids for 1 year. Morbidity was measured by weekly self-reports using a structured questionnaire. Poisson regression analyses of episodes/child/year and duration/episode adjusted for age and sex were performed on clusters of symptoms, including upper and lower respiratory tract infections (URTI and LRTI), gastrointestinal complaints (GI) and general symptoms of illness to observe MN and n-3 fatty acid treatment effects.

Results:

Children consuming high n-3 fatty acids had significantly fewer episodes of URTI/child/year (relative risk (RR)=0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.79, 0.97) and significantly shorter duration/episode of URTI (RR=0.81, 95% CI: 0.78, 0.85), LRTI (RR=0.91, 95% CI: 0.85, 0.97), GI complaints (RR=0.79, 95% CI: 0.74, 0.85) and general symptoms (RR=0.90, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.98) compared with children who received low n-3 fatty acid intervention. The high MN intervention reduced the duration of general symptoms (RR=0.89, 95% CI: 0.82, 0.98).

Conclusion:

Although n-3 fatty acids may be beneficial for reducing illness in Indian schoolchildren, more research is needed to confirm presence of combined effect with MN.

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Acknowledgements

We are most grateful to the principals and teachers of the schools, the children and their parents for their participation in the study. We thank all our colleagues from St John's Research Institute and Unilever who were involved in preparation and execution of the study. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. This research was supported by Unilever Netherlands BV.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, St John's Research Institute, St John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, India

    T Thomas, S Muthayya, P Thankachan, A Gandhe & A V Kurpad

  2. Unilever R&D Vlaardingen, Vlaardingen, The Netherlands

    A Eilander, S McKay, W Theis & S J M Osendarp

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  1. T Thomas
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  2. A Eilander
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Correspondence to T Thomas.

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Competing interests

A Eilander, S McKay, W Theis and S Osendarp are employees of Unilever. AV Kurpad is a member of the Kraft Health and Wellness Advisory Council. T Thomas, S Muthayya, P Thankachan and A Gandhe declare no conflict of interest.

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Thomas, T., Eilander, A., Muthayya, S. et al. The effect of a 1-year multiple micronutrient or n-3 fatty acid fortified food intervention on morbidity in Indian school children. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 452–458 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.178

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