DHA Supplementation Improves Reading in Under-Performing Children [ISSFAL 2012]

May 31, 2012

Reference:

The DHA Oxford Learning and Behaviour (DOLAB) Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial of DHA Supplementation in Health Children
Richardson, A. and Montgomery, P., Centre for Evidence-based Intervention, University of Oxford, UK
(The present report is filed on-site by the DHA/EPA Omega-3 Institute from the 10th Congress of the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids held in Vancouver, BC)

Summary:

This research group from the University of Oxford reported that 6-10 year old children with the lowest blood levels of DHA omega-3 (reflective of lower dietary intakes) exhibited a lower working memory and a poorer reading ability as compared to children with much higher levels. Thus, they conducted a clinical research trial on 362 children from UK schools (ages 7-9 years) who exhibited the bottom third with respect to reading ability (“poor readers”).

This DOLAB Study randomized 182 children to receive daily supplementation with a placebo (control group) while the others (180 children) received 600 mg DHA/day for a period of 16 weeks. Reading performances (at day 0 and 16 weeks) were measured by the British Ability Scales – Single Word Reading. For those children whose initial reading performance was at or below the 20 percentile (bottom fifth) of the group, a significant benefit of DHA supplementation was found. This benefit of DHA was even more pronounced for those in the bottom 10 %. For children in the bottom 20 % , an additional 0.8 months of reading age ability was gained with DHA relative to the controls (not receiving DHA supplement). For children in the bottom 10 % , the additional reading age gain with DHA was estimated at 1.9 months. The researchers concluded that DHA supplementation appears to be a safe and effective way to improve reading and behaviour in healthy but under-performing children from mainstream schools.

Dr. Holub's Comments:

When interviewed directly by Dr. Holub (University of Guelph and the DHA/EPA Omega-3 Institute) on site, Dr. Paul Richardson provided the following quote: “ I have no doubt that the vast majority of children in the United Kingdom and in North America are under-consuming the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids needed for optimal reading ability and behaviour”. Dr. Holub notes that intakes of 600 mg DHA/day are approximately 10 times greater than average daily intakes in North America today but similar to that of many children in Japan.

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