Researchers at Cornell University recently published results of their 7-year follow-up study, a randomized and controlled trial investigating the effects of varying maternal intakes of choline in the 3rd trimester of pregnancy on cognitive function, specifically the attention levels of their children. There was a high level of adherence to the study diet; all women had most of their meals prepared for them, providing 380 mg of choline per day. Those in the control group received an additional 100 mg supplemental choline (near the approximate AI during pregnancy), while the experimental group received an additional 550 mg supplemental choline. The children (at age 7) were evaluated with the Sustained Attention Task (SAT), a test which demands control of voluntary attention, requiring focus over an extended period.
Those children whose mothers received 930 mg of choline per day performed significantly better on several aspects of the SAT than those receiving only 480 mg, suggesting a causal role for choline intake during pregnancy on the sustained attention of offspring throughout childhood. Notable also is that the mean intake of choline during pregnancy among US women is about 322mg, well below even the control group in this trial.
It’s been established that maternal choline supplementation appears to significantly influence choline metabolism, linked to many metabolic and neurological processes. This study, along with others, strongly indicates that the current recommendations for choline during pregnancy may be suboptimal, particularly concerning given that most women are not meeting current guidelines for intake.