A randomised controlled study of the effect of long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on stool hardness during formula feeding
J S Forsyth, S Varma, M Colvin
Department of Child
Health, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, UK
Correspondence to: Dr Forsyth.
Accepted 10 May 1999
BACKGROUND
The passage
of hard stools is significantly more common in formula fed infants than
breast fed infants and this might be the result of differences in fat
absorption between breast and formula fed infants. Experimental studies
indicate that long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) might
influence fat hydrolysis and absorption.
AIMTo investigate the
relation of LCPUFA supplementation to stool frequency and consistency
during the first 4 months of life.
DESIGNDouble blind,
randomised, controlled study of 88 healthy infants.
RESULTS1905 stools
(858 from LCPUFA supplemented infants, 1047 non-supplemented infants)
were examined. The mean (SEM) number of stools passed for each three
day study period was significantly less in the LCPUFA group (5.5 (0.3)
v 6.2 (0.2); p < 0.05). In both groups,
there was a significant reduction in the number of stools passed with
age (p < 0.001). During the first 3 months, the mean (SEM)
percentage of hard stools passed by infants in the LCPUFA supplemented
group was 7.7 (2.1) compared with 19.2 (2.8) for unsupplemented infants
(p = 0.001).
CONCLUSIONThe
prevalence of hard stools is significantly reduced in infants fed a
formula that is supplemented with LCPUFAs.
Keywords: long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids; formula feeding; hard stools; calcium soaps; randomised controlled trial
© 1999 by Archives of Disease in Childhood
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[Abstract] [Full Text]
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