Effects of maternal vitamin B12 supplementation on early infant neurocognitive outcomes: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

ABSTRACT: Maternal nutritional status during pregnancy impacts fetal brain development. Vitamin B12 plays a vital role in neuronal development. However, findings from studies on the association between maternal B12 status and child cognitive functions have been inconsistent. We performed a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of oral B12 supplementation (50?µg) beginning at <14?weeks of gestation through a 6-week post-partum. In the present study, we report the effects of maternal B12 supplementation on cognitive development in infants at 9?months of age on Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III (BSID-III). One hundred eighty-three pregnant women received vitamin B12, and 183 received placebo. Nine-month BSID-III development score was available in 178 infants. There were no significant differences in maternal sociodemographic characteristics and baseline biochemical measures between infants who underwent BSID-III evaluation and infants who were not evaluated. There were no significant differences in any of the subscales of BSID-III between infants born to mothers who received B12 supplementation (n?=?78) vs. placebo (n?=?100). On multiple regression analysis, elevated maternal total homocysteine (tHcy) levels adjusted for treatment group, birthweight, parity, income and home environment at second trimester of pregnancy were significantly negatively associated with expressive language (??=?3.13 points, P?

SUBMITTER: Srinivasan K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6090548 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature