Background: Nutrition is essential during the years of life to normal progression of brain development. We already published that children who received formula enriched with added bovine milk fat globule membrane (bMFGM) through 12 months, presented better synchronization of the circuitry underlying language attention and perception at 2 year-olds. Objective : The goal of the current study is to follow-up the language comprehension, considering vocabulary, morphology, and syntax at 6 year-olds. Design/Methods: Participants were originally randomized to receive one of two routine cow’s milk-based study formulas through 12 months of age: standard formula (SF) or a similar experimental formula (EF) with added bMFGM. Participants performed the TECAL (Auditory comprehension language test), consisting of 101 items, 41 of which assess vocabulary, 48 morphology, and 12 syntax. It requires the child to listen to an auditory stimulus and respond by identifying a drawing from among three slides. Results: Of 147 participants contacted, 105 (69%) accepted to perform the test assessment; SF: 34, EF: 31 (36, who received breastfeeding, were not included in the analysis). Groups were similar for: age, school grade, number of siblings, parent work, and economic income. EF group performed better compared to SF, obtaining a larger number of correct total responses (90.7± 3.5 vs 88.2± 6.0) and correct morphology (43.5± 2.4 vs 41.7± 3.8). Besides, the EF group performed above the clinical mean scores. Conclusion : Our results showed that EF group at 6 year-old, presented better skill language compared to SF group, especially in the ability to understand the meaning of words and their use. These findings support current evidence that suggests formula enriched with added bMFGM, may contribute to healthy cognitive development when breastfeeding is not available.
Algarin et al. (Thu,) studied this question.