Early nutritional determinants of intrahepatocellular lipid deposition in preterm infants at term age

• Published in: International Journal of Obesity Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 500 - 504
• Main Authors: VASU, V, THOMAS, E. L, DURIGHEL, G, HYDE, M. J, BELL, J. D, MODI, N
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basingstoke Nature Publishing Group 01.04.2013
• Subjects: Adiposity; Adults; Age; Aqueous solutions; Biological and medical sciences; Body fat; Breast feeding; Breastfeeding & lactation; Carbohydrates; Case studies; Case-Control Studies; Diets; Female; Food and nutrition; Gestational Age; Health aspects; Health care; Hepatocytes - metabolism; Humans; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature - growth & development; Infant, Premature - metabolism; Infants; Infants (Premature); Intervention; Lipid Metabolism; Lipids; Liver; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Male; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Neonates; Newborn babies; Nitrogen; Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Nutrition; Obesity; Parenteral nutrition; Pregnancy; Premature babies; Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Prospective Studies; Proteins; Risk factors; Spectroscopy; Spectrum analysis; United Kingdom; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK; British Isles; Premature; Obesity; Nutrition; Determinant; Nutrition disorder; preterm; Lipids; Metabolic diseases; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; NMR spectrometry; Feeding; Pregnancy; Prematurity; Early; intrahepatocellular lipid; Age; Deposition; Nutritional status
• ISSN: 0307-0565; 1476-5497
• DOI: 10.1038/ijo.2012.213

We have previously shown that by term age, preterm infants have elevated intrahepatocellular lipid (IHCL) content and altered regional adiposity, both of which are risk factors for cardiometabolic illness in adult life. Preterm nutritional intake is a plausible determinant of these aberrant trajectories of development. We aimed to establish if macronutritional components of the preterm diet were determinants of IHCL deposition measured at term equivalent age, using (1)H Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (MRS). Prospective observational case-control study in a single UK neonatal unit. (1)H MR spectra were acquired from 18 preterm infants (<32 weeks gestational age at birth) at term age and 31 healthy term infants, who acted as a control group. Neonatal nutritional information was collected from birth to 34(+6) weeks postmenstrual age. IHCL (median, interquartile range) was significantly higher in preterm-at-term infants compared with term-born infants: 0.735, 0-1.46 versus 0.138, 0-0.58; P=0.003. In preterm infants, IHCL was positively correlated with lipid intake in the first week of life (r=0.52, P=0.04). This study confirms our previous observation of elevated IHCL in preterm infants at term and suggests that early lipid intake may be a determinant. Future work is warranted to establish the clinical relevance and the role of nutritional intervention in attenuating or exacerbating this effect in preterm infants.