Long-term alpha-tocopherol supplements may improve mental development in extremely low birthweight infants.

Hiroyuki Kitajima, Tadahiro Kanazawa, Rintaro Mori, Shinya Hirano, Tohru Ogihara, Masanori Fujimura

Index: Acta Paediatr. 104(2) , e82-9, (2015)

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Abstract

Methods to improve the mental development of extremely low birthweight (ELBW) children are currently lacking. We assessed the effects of long-term supplementation of alpha-tocopherol on the neurological development of 259 school-aged ELBW children.Extremely low birthweight participants were divided into three groups: group A with no alpha-tocopherol supplementation (n = 121); group B with the supplementation for <6 months (n = 104) and group C with the supplementation for more than 6 months (n = 34). We analysed the participants' data at birth and between the ages of one-and-a-half to 8 years and evaluated potential factors associated with intellectual disabilities.Children from group C had the best outcome. The groups' mean gestational weeks and mean ventilator days were as follows: 27.5 weeks, 16.1 days (group A); 25.7 weeks, 41.7 days (group B); and 25.1 weeks, 75.5 days (group C). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that the odds ratios for impaired mental development at 8 years were 1.5 in group B and 0.19 (p = 0.017) in group C, compared with 1.0 in group A. The association between the duration of alpha-tocopherol administration and performance intelligence quotient (IQ) was dose dependent (p = 0.03).Long-term supplementation of alpha-tocopherol appeared to improve mental development, in particular, performance IQ, in school-aged ELBW children.©2014 Foundation Acta Paediatrica. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.