linoleic-acid and Growth-Disorders

Essential fatty acid deficiency as a result of inadequate linoleic acid impairs growth in healthy infants and is common in infants with malabsorption due to cystic fibrosis (CF). We investigated the effect of dietary linoleic acid intake on the growth of infants with CF. In this study, predigested formula preparations A and B, with linoleic acid contents of 12% and 7% of energy, respectively, were fed before and after 1989 to infants enrolled in the evaluation and treatment protocol of the Wisconsin CF Neonatal Screening Project. Outcome was assessed from height-for-age (HAZ) and weight-for-age (WAZ) Z scores on follow-up exams during the first year. Baseline characteristics did not differ significantly between groups A (n = 43) and B (n = 33). At diagnosis, 53% of the enrolled infants (n = 76) showed low plasma linoleic acid concentrations and 22% had a high ratio of triene to tetraene. After correcting for the effect of potentially confounding variables, we found that HAZ (by .27, P < 0.05) and WAZ (by 0.26, P = 0.081) were higher in group A than in group B. This occurred despite a significantly higher energy intake in group B. This difference was most pronounced between 6 and 9 mo of age. Our results suggest that a high linoleic acid content in formula benefits infants with CF because it optimizes nutrition, growth, and feeding efficiency.

Topics: Age Factors; Body Height; Body Weight; Cystic Fibrosis; Deficiency Diseases; Energy Intake; Fatty Acids, Essential; Female; Growth; Growth Disorders; Humans; Infant; Infant Food; Infant, Newborn; Linoleic Acid; Linoleic Acids; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Prevalence; Wisconsin

In Northern Ghana, 33% of children are stunted due to economic disparities. Dietary fatty acids (FA) are critical for growth, but whether blood FA levels are adequate in Ghanaian children is unknown. The objective of this study was to determine the association between whole blood FAs and growth parameters in Northern Ghanaian children 2-6 years of age. A drop of blood was collected on an antioxidant treated card and analyzed for FA composition. Weight and height were measured and z-scores were calculated. Relationships between FAs and growth parameters were analyzed by Spearman correlations, linear regressions, and factor analysis. Of the 307 children who participated, 29.7% were stunted and 8% were essential FA deficient (triene/tetraene ratio>0.02). Essential FA did not differ between stunted and non-stunted children and was not associated with height-for-age z-score (HAZ) or weight-for-age z-score (WAZ). In hemoglobin adjusted regression models, both HAZ and WAZ were positively associated with arachidonic acid (p≤0.01), dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid (DGLA, p≤0.05), docosatetraenoic acid (p≤0.01) and the ratio of DGLA/linoleic acid (p≤0.01). These data add to the growing body of evidence indicating n-6 FAs are critical in childhood linear growth. Our findings provide new insights into the health status of an understudied Northern Ghanaian population.

Topics: Arachidonic Acid; Body Height; Body Weight; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Fatty Acids, Omega-6; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; Female; Ghana; Growth Disorders; Hemoglobins; Humans; Linear Models; Linoleic Acid; Male

In Tanzania, 35% of all children below five years of age are stunted. Dietary fatty acids (FA) are critical for growth and development. However, whole blood FA levels in Tanzanian children are poorly described.. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to assess 1) whole blood levels of essential fatty acids and 2) the association between whole blood FA levels and growth parameters in Tanzanian children 2-6 years of age.. A drop of blood was collected on an antioxidant treated card and analyzed for FA composition. Weight and height were measured and z-scores calculated. Relationships between FAs and growth parameters were analyzed by linear regression.. Of the 334 children that participated, 30.3% were stunted. The average whole blood level of Mead acid was 0.15%. The anthropometric z-score height-for-age (HAZ) was inversely associated with Mead acid, the Mead acid to arachidonic acid (T/T) ratio, and total n-9 FA. Additionally, HAZ was positively associated with linoleic acid and total n-6 FA. BMI-for-age was positively associated with oleic acid, total n-9 FA and T/T ratio but inversely associated with arachidonic acid and total n-6 FA. Weight-for-height was inversely associated with arachidonic acid and total n-6 FAs and positively associated with oleic acid and total n-9 FA. Weight-for-age was not associated with any FA tested. Total n-3 FAs were not associated with any growth parameters measured.. The EFA linoleic acid and the markers of FA deficiency were associated with HAZ, an indicator for stunting in 2-6 year old Tanzanian children. Total n-6, total n-9, and a number of individual FAs were associated with growth. Increasing dietary intake of EFA and n-6 FAs may be a strategy to combat stunting in this population.

Topics: Body Height; Body Weight; Child; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Growth Disorders; Humans; Linoleic Acid; Male; Tanzania

Excessive intake of saturated fatty acids and/or linoleic acid favors the induction of an array of lipid mediators and cytokines enhancing inflammatory responses. Conversely, dietary supplementation with (n-3) fatty acids or vitamin D ameliorates inflammation and autoimmune diseases. Although it was well accepted that conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) prevented diseases with a common inflammatory pathogenesis (i.e., cancer and atherosclerosis), no studies were available on the roles of CLA in mucosal inflammation. The present study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory actions and molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of colonic health by CLA. We hypothesized that colonic inflammation can be ameliorated by dietary CLA supplementation. To test this hypothesis, inflammation of the colonic mucosa was triggered by challenging pigs fed either soybean oil-supplemented or CLA-supplemented diets with an enteric bacterial pathogen (i.e., Brachyspira hyodysenteriae). Immunoregulatory cytokines and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR-gamma) mRNA expression were assayed in colonic lymph nodes and colon of pigs. Colonic mucosal lesions and lymphocyte subset distribution were evaluated by histology and immunohistochemistry. Supplementation of CLA in the diet before the induction of colitis decreased mucosal damage; maintained cytokine profiles (i.e., interferon-gamma and interleukin-10) and lymphocyte subset distributions (i.e., CD4+ and CD8+), resembling those of noninfected pigs; enhanced colonic expression of PPAR-gamma; and attenuated growth failure. Therefore, CLA fed preventively before the onset of enteric disease attenuated inflammatory lesion development and growth failure.

Topics: Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Animals; Colitis; Colon; Cytokines; Diet; Dietary Fats; Fatty Acids; Growth Disorders; Intestinal Mucosa; Linoleic Acid; Lymphocyte Subsets; Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; RNA, Messenger; Spirochaetales Infections; Swine; Swine Diseases; Transcription Factors

Growth retardation is common in infants with congenital heart defects. The aim of this study was to investigate whether growth retardation or type of heart defect in infants with congenital heart defects is related to disturbances in lipid metabolism. Sixteen infants with ventricular septal defects and six infants with transposition of the great arteries were given an intravenous load of lipid emulsion (Intralipid 20 mg/ml) corresponding to 0.5 g fat/kg body weight for 5 min after fasting for 8 h. Blood samples were drawn immediately before the infusion and 3, 20, 60, 120 and 240 min after the infusion was completed. Plasma concentrations of triglycerides (TG), free fatty acids (FFA), ketones, lactate, pyruvate, alanine, glycerol and glucose were determined. The fatty acid patterns in the TG and FFA fractions were measured using gas chromatography. Severe growth retardation in infants with defects of these kinds was correlated to higher fasting and maximum levels of linoleic acid in plasma FFA. The maximum levels of linoleic acid in the TG fraction were positively correlated to weight SD score, and maximum glycerol levels were higher in the most growth-retarded infants, indicating faster intravascular lipolysis. Linoleic acid in the TG fraction was still elevated at 120 and 240 min after the lipid load. Some differences between the cyanotic and VSD groups could be noted. These indicate decreased metabolic capacity to utilize released FFA in the cyanotic group. Infants with cyanotic heart defects also had higher lactate and alanine levels compared to infants with VSD. Our results support the hypothesis that lipid metabolism is disturbed in infants with congenital heart defects.

Topics: Alanine; Blood Glucose; Chromatography, Gas; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Fat Emulsions, Intravenous; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; Fluorometry; Glycerol; Growth Disorders; Heart Defects, Congenital; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Ketones; Lactates; Linoleic Acid; Lipolysis; Pyruvic Acid; Severity of Illness Index; Triglycerides