Parents in a diverse U.S. city consumed only half the recommended omega-3 levels, and mothers with a history of preterm birth had the lowest intake, linking diet, income, and opportunity to child health potential.
Research: Parental Intake of Eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acids in a Diverse, Urban City in the United States Is Associated with Indicators of Children’s Health Potential. Image Credit: Pixel-Shot / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in the journal Nutrients, researchers examined parental intake of docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic (EPA) acids. Recent dietary guidelines recommend the intake of seafoods, a good source of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).
Evidence supports that the intake of specific omega-3 PUFAs, such as DHA and EPA, reduces early preterm birth (PTB) and PTB. In addition, recent studies link seafood consumption in pregnancy and childhood to positive neurodevelopmental outcomes in children.
Seafoods have the highest levels of DHA and EPA, while other foods, such as chicken and eggs, contain much lower levels. It is known that American children have low intakes of DHA and EPA, and adults also have lower than recommended daily average intakes.
Parental dietary habits affect children's eating habits, with intakes of healthy foods more robustly correlated between children and parents than unhealthy foods.
About the study
In the present study, researchers assessed parental intake of DHA and EPA and investigated the associated sociodemographic conditions.
Parents from all neighborhoods in Chicago completed a food frequency questionnaire between May and July 2022. Parents aged ≥ 18, with at least one child aged 0–17 in the household, were included, only one parent per household was recruited.
The questionnaire asked about foods that contribute most to DHA and EPA intake. Three questions were about seafood intake, grouped by similarity in DHA levels.
Participants specified whether they had consumed seafood in that group and indicated its consumption frequency. Consumption responses were converted into estimated daily intakes. Participants also specified whether they took supplements containing DHA.
Participants self-reported demographic information, such as age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, and household income. In addition, female participants were asked if they had prior PTB.
Participants’ residential addresses were linked to their neighborhood’s Childhood Opportunity Index (COI), a composite score that reflects children’s multidimensional opportunities for healthy growth and development and is derived from 44 indicators across health, education, and environmental domains.
The study’s outcomes were the individual and combined parental daily intake of DHA and EPA. Comparisons of intakes between fathers and mothers were performed using t-tests. Multivariable linear regression models were used to examine parental characteristics associated with the intake of DHA and EPA.
Separate models for fathers and mothers were developed as PTB was examined in females only.
Findings
Responses were obtained from 1,057 participants. Most individuals were aged > 35 years (65.6%) and female (59.5%), and 24.1% of female parents had prior PTB. Approximately one-fourth of participants reported using DHA-containing supplements. The COI was low or very low for most households (73.3%).
Mothers had significantly lower individual and combined intakes of DHA and EPA than fathers (135.7 mg/day vs 162.8 mg/day, mean difference 27.1 mg/day, p = 0.02).
Among female parents, not using DHA-containing supplements (−48.3 mg/day) and prior PTB (−24.4 mg/day) were negatively associated with combined DHA and EPA intake.
Black, non-Latinx/Hispanic ethnicity was associated with higher combined DHA and EPA intake (+41.7 mg/day) than White, non-Latinx/Hispanic ethnicity. Households with an income > 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) were positively associated with combined intake compared to those < 100% of FPL.
For males, not using DHA-containing supplements (−73.0 mg/day) and Latinx or Hispanic and Other or Multi-race (non-Latinx or Hispanic) categories were associated with lower combined intake, Black, non-Latinx or Hispanic was not significantly different from White, non-Latinx or Hispanic.
By contrast, household income was not associated with fathers’ DHA plus EPA intake. Households with high or very high COI had significantly higher intake than low and very low COI in separate pairwise tests (approximately 50 mg/day difference).
Conclusions
The study reported a cross-sectional measure of parental DHA and EPA intake in conjunction with children’s health-potential measures, such as COI and PTB. Parental intake of DHA and EPA was considerably lower than the 250 mg/day expected from consuming the amount of seafood recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Lower maternal DHA and EPA intake was also linked with a history of preterm birth.
Improving parental DHA and EPA intake may reduce PTB risk based on prior randomized trial evidence, although the present study is cross-sectional and cannot establish causality. Moreover, socioeconomic disadvantage, e.g., lower COI or household income, was associated with lower DHA plus EPA intake by parents.
The authors noted that the magnitudes of these differences were meaningful rather than trivial. Mean parental intake was well below 250 mg per day expected from guidance, the study reports means and between-group differences rather than the exact proportion below 250 mg per day.
The authors also acknowledged contextual limitations, including data collection during the avian flu and COVID-19 periods, the use of a single-parent sample, and under-representation of high-COI households, which may limit generalizability.
Increasing intake can benefit public health in quantifiable ways, such as reductions in PTB rates, and the authors suggested potential interventions such as educating families on affordable seafood options and encouraging pediatricians to counsel parents on their own nutrition.
Journal reference:
- Robinson DT, Heffernan ME, Bendelow A, et al. (2025). Parental Intake of Eicosapentaenoic and Docosahexaenoic Acids in a Diverse, Urban City in the United States Is Associated with Indicators of Children’s Health Potential. Nutrients, 17(20), 3277. DOI: 10.3390/nu17203277, https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/17/20/3277