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?