Purpose of the review: The aim is to examine data from clinical trials and prospective longitudinal studies that evaluate the effect of infant formula supplements on the cognitive function of children.
Recent findings: A total of 300 articles from 2000 to 2021 were selected. The most researched IF supplements were initially long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), some proteins and, recently, milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). Supplementation of IF with LC-PUFA led to some positive effects on specific cognitive functions or no effect; however, there was no consistent benefit for cognitive function. Modifying the amount of proteins did not affect the children's neuropsychological tests. Supplementation of IF with MFGM and its components had beneficial effects on child cognitive development in the short term, but no effect was observed in the long term. Further studies are needed to confirm the safety of supplementation on the development of cognitive function in children fed with infant formula.
Keywords: Infant formula; Infant neurodevelopment; Infant nutrition; Nutritional supplementation.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.