Summary: Researchers discovered a complex milk component that, when added to infant formula, can offer long-term cognitive benefits to children.
The study found that formula supplemented with milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and lactoferrin for a year raised children’s IQ by 5 points at age 5 ½. The effect was most noticeable in children’s speed of processing information and visual-spatial skills.
This breakthrough offers a promising alternative for families who face challenges in breastfeeding.
Key Facts:
- The study used formula enriched with milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) and lactoferrin, components naturally present in mammalian milk, but often removed in commercial infant formula.
- Children who were fed this enriched formula had a 5-point IQ increase and displayed significantly improved executive function when tested at 5 ½ years old.
- The benefits of enriched formula were sustained long after the feeding ended, supporting the idea that early nutrition has a long-term impact on brain development.
Source: University of Kansas
Breast milk is widely acknowledged as the most beneficial nutrition for infants, but many families face medical or logistical challenges in breastfeeding. In the U.S., just 45% of infants continue to be exclusively breastfed at 3 months of age, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
For decades, researchers have sought to create a viable complement or alternative to breast milk to give children their best start for healthy development. New research out of the University of Kansas has shown how a complex component of milk that can be added to infant formula has been shown to confer long-term cognitive benefits, including measures of intelligence and executive function in children.
The research by John Colombo, KU Life Span Institute director and investigator, along with colleagues at Mead Johnson Nutrition and in Shanghai, China, adds to the growing scientific support for the importance of ingredients found in milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) in early human development.
The study, which was published in the Journal of Pediatrics, showed that feeding infants formula supplemented with MFGM and lactoferrin for 12 months raised IQ by 5 points at 5 ½ years of age.
The effects were most evident in tests of children’s speed of processing information and visual-spatial skills. Significant differences were also seen in children’s performance on tests of executive function, which are complex skills involving rule learning and inhibition.
All forms of mammalian milk contain large fat globules that are surrounded by a membrane composed of a variety of nutrients important to human nutrition and brain development, Colombo said. When milk-based infant formula is manufactured, the membrane has typically been removed during processing.
“No one thought much about this membrane,” Colombo said, “until chemical analyses showed that it’s remarkably complex and full of components that potentially contribute to health and brain development.”
The 2023 study was a follow-up to one that Colombo also co-wrote with colleagues in Shanghai, China, published in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2019. That study showed that babies who were fed formula with added bovine MFGM and lactoferrin had higher scores on neurodevelopmental tests during the first year and on some aspects of language at 18 months of age.
The global nutrition research community has been looking at MFGM for about a decade, Colombo said. Because the membrane is made up of several different components, it isn’t known whether one of the components is responsible for these benefits, or whether the entire package of nutrients act together to improve brain and behavioral development.
These benefits were seen in children long after the end of formula feeding at 12 months of age.
“This is consistent with the idea that early exposure to these nutritional components contribute to the long-term structure and function of the brain,” said Colombo, who has spent much of his career researching the importance of early experience in shaping later development.
About this neurodevelopment research news
Author: Jen Humphrey
Source: University of Kansas
Contact: Jen Humphrey – University of Kansas
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Improved Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 5.5 Years of Age in Children Who Received Bovine Milk Fat Globule Membrane and Lactoferrin in Infant Formula Through 12 Months: A Randomized Controlled Trial” by John Colombo et al. Journal of Pediatrics
Abstract
Improved Neurodevelopmental Outcomes at 5.5 Years of Age in Children Who Received Bovine Milk Fat Globule Membrane and Lactoferrin in Infant Formula Through 12 Months: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Objective
To evaluate the neurodevelopmental outcomes at 5.5 years of age in children who were previously randomized to cow milk–based infant formula (control) or similar formula (milk fat globule membrane + lactoferrin) with added sources of bovine milk fat globule membrane and bovine lactoferrin through 12 months of age.
Design
Children who completed study feeding were invited to participate in follow-up assessments: cognitive development across multiple domains (primary outcome; Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence, 4th Edition), inhibitory control/rule learning (Stroop Task), flexibility/rule learning (Dimensional Change Card Sort), and behavior/emotion (Child Behavior Checklist).
Results
Of 292 eligible participants (control: 148, milk fat globule membrane + lactoferrin: 144), 116 enrolled and completed assessments (control: 59, milk fat globule membrane + LF: 57). There were no group demographic differences except family income (milk fat globule membrane + lactoferrin significantly higher). Wechsler Preschool & Primary Scale of Intelligence, 4th Edition composite scores (mean ± standard error) for Visual Spatial (100.6 ± 1.7 vs 95.3 ± 1.7; P = .027), Processing Speed (107.1 ± 1.4 vs 100.0 ± 1.4; P < .001), and Full-Scale IQ (98.7 ± 1.4 vs 93.5 ± 1.5; P = .012) were significantly higher for milk fat globule membrane + lactoferrin versus control, even after controlling for demographic/socioeconomic factors. Stroop Task scores were significantly higher in milk fat globule membrane + lactoferrin versus control (P < .001). Higher Dimensional Change Card Sort scores (P = .013) in the border phase (most complex/challenging) were detected, and more children passed the border phase (32% vs 12%; P = .039) for milk fat globule membrane versus control. No group differences in Child Behavior Checklist score were detected.
Conclusions
Children who received infant formula to 12 months of age with added bovine milk fat globule membrane and bovine lactoferrin versus standard formula demonstrated improved cognitive outcomes in multiple domains at 5.5 years of age, including measures of intelligence and executive function.
Trial Registration
Clinicaltrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04442477.
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