MATERNAL AND NEONATAL ESSENTIAL FATTY-ACID STATUS IN PHOSPHOLIPIDS - AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE-STUDY

Objective: To investigate whether the steady decline in the maternal e ssential fatty acids (EFA) status during pregnancy observed in Dutch p regnant women is a local or general phenomenon. Design: The EFA status was measured during uncomplicated, singleton pregnancy of healthy wom en from the Netherlands, Hungary, Finland, England and Ecuador. In add ition, the EFA status of their neonates were measured at birth. Fatty acid profiles were analyzed in phospholipids isolated from maternal pl asma and from umbilical plasma and cord vessel walls. Results: Conside rable differences between these centers were observed in the maternal EFA levels and EFA status indexes. However, the change in the absolute as well as relative amounts of the EFAs followed a similar course in the five populations during pregnancy. The neonatal EFA profiles refle cted the differences found in maternal plasma during pregnancy and sho rtly after delivery. Comparable correlations were found, particularly, between the neonatal and the maternal n - 3 fatty acids in the partic ipating groups. Conclusions: It seems that the reduction in maternal E FA status during pregnancy is a general phenomenon, and is largely ind ependent of differences in dietary habits and ethnic origin. Since the lowest values for certain maternal EFAs in a given country were signi ficantly higher than the highest value of these EFAs throughout pregna ncy in other countries, the functional implications of the pregnancy-a ssociated reduction in the maternal EFA status for the fetal and neona tal development is not obvious and needs to be further elucidated.