Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 Theme 4 Theme 5 Theme 6 Theme 7 Theme 8 Theme 9

Follow-up of major intervention trials in pregnancy and early life (Theme 1)
Theme Leader -
Prof. Cristina Campoy

Studies in Theme 1 followed-up people who took part in previous intervention trials carried out during pregnancy and the first few years of life. This enabled the effects of the interventions to be tested over a longer period. The main hypotheses that were tested are listed below:

  • Does maternal diet have beneficial long term effects on visual, motor and cognitive development, and cardiovascular risk factors, including obesity propensity and type II diabetes for the child?
  • Is prenatal docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) supply safe with regard to growth, infection rates, and occurrence of other potential adverse effects?
  • Does infant feeding affect long-term adult health outcomes (atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, obesity, development of allergies, development of food preferences, and bone health)?
  • Do neonatal fatty acid status and supplementation of formula feeds with long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) affect specific measures of neurodevelopmental outcome at the age of 8-12 years in term and preterm infants?
  • Are gut bacteria different between children developing and not developing allergic disease?
  • Are pre- and probiotic interventions during the neonatal period efficient and safe in the long-term?