Public Information
The Power of Programming – feedback from recent event
The EARNEST project, the Early Nutrition Academy and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, welcomed 585 delegates from 51 countries to the recent Power of Programming event. Internationally renowned scientists presented their findings relating to the long-term effects of early nutrition on human development and metabolism, to adulthood. The conference, held in Munich between 6th and 8th May 2010, was organised around plenary sessions, symposia, poster sessions and workshops.
Nutrimenthe presented nine posters and one symposium, Programming of Neurodevelopment, was organised in conjunction with the project. This session featured presentations on the role of folate and LC-PUFA intake during pregnancy and later mental development.
Programming of Neurodevelopment - symposium
The symposium began with a presentation by Professor Hania Szajewska from the Medical University of Warsaw, on the role of meta-analysis in the evaluation of the effects of nutrition on mental and motor development in children. Professor Szajewska reported that meta-analysis has received criticism, being likened to “mixing apples with pears” but that its use in evaluating medical interventions is increasing. She reported that although carrying-out systematic reviews of results published from randomised controlled trials (RCTs), is appropriate, it is not always appropriate to perform a meta-analysis. She concluded that systematic reviews of RCTs (with or without meta-analysis) is the principle research method used to evaluate medical interventions but, an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in this approach is needed by everyone involved in the decision making regarding the interventions assessed by this approach.
Following on from Professor Szajewska, Charlotta Granstrom (Centre for Foetal Programming, Denmark), reported how maternal intake of folate during pregnancy affected psychomotor development at 18 months. Dr Granstrom demonstrated that the effect of folate on psychomotor development varied depending on the source of the folate. Scores relating to psychomotor development were higher if mothers reported eating folate sources such as onions, tomatoes and green leafy vegetables as opposed to grain, dairy and egg. It was concluded that the effect on psychomotor development may not be an effect of folate itself but perhaps could be attributed to food constituents that co-exist with folate in specific vegetables.
In the same session, Mijna Hadders-Algra, Marin Strom and Cristina Campoy all reported work on the effect of LC-PUFA intake during pregnancy on mental development in childhood. Currently there is limited data on the long-term effect of pre-natal LC-PUFA status in woman and long term neurodevelopment in their children. Mijna Hadders-Algra reported, in a double blind randomised control study, that although supplementation with LC-PUFA did not affect neurological condition there was a beneficial effect on neurological outcome, in terms of cognitive development, at age nine. Marin Strom reported that maternal fish intake (in particular DHA intake) during pregnancy resulted in a moderate beneficial effect on childhood IQ at age 5. Cristina Campoy reported that after supplementation with DHA during pregnancy, the levels of DHA in the mother at delivery and in cord blood were the main factor influencing neurological outcome and IQ. DHA Levels were associated with a better neurological outcome at 5.5 years of age and a beneficial effect was seen on childhood IQ at age 6.5.
A wealth of research was presented at the conference which brought together scientists, clinicians, representatives of advisory and regulatory bodies and the food industry. In the closing session, Programming Research: where are we and where do we go from here? Professor Bertold Koletzko concluded that convincing evidence has accumulated to show that both pre and post natal nutrition pre-programme long term health, well being and performance and that there is enormous potential in applying this knowledge for preventive approaches with regard improving the health and well being of the population. However, he stressed that “solid science-based knowledge is required to assess the size of the effect in contemporary European populations, to characterise underlying mechanisms and to understand potential differences in different subgroups of the populations e.g. by genetic predisposition or gender”In addition, Professor Koletzko believes international collaboration should reach beyond the European Union and include collaboration between industry and academia. The outcome of such research should be easy to apply dietary advice for pregnancy, lactation and infancy.
The final programme and abstract booklet plus presentations from the conference are available here.
The final press releases from the conference can be found here.
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