Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. One hundred three pregnant women, who took 600 mg of DHA during the last 6 weeks of their pregnancies, had a significant reduction in the number of preterm births. These numbers translate into tremendous cost savings to the US healthcare system.

pregnancyPre-term birth is defined as being born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy 1. This affects about 12.5% of babies (more than 500,000 per year) in the United States each year. The premature birth rate has increased by more than 30% since 1981 2 and costs our health care system $26 billion per year 3.

Research has recently pointed to high cholesterol levels during pregnancy 4 as a contributing factor to preterm birth. A 2016 study 5 found that DHA may improve pregnancy health. DHA is a component of Omega-3 fatty acids and is found in high levels in the brain. The study involved 197 pregnant women with an average age of 25. One hundred three of the women were randomly assigned to take 600 milligrams of DHA (three 200-mg capsules per day); a second group of 94 women were assigned to a placebo containing corn and soybean to be taken during the last 26 weeks of each woman’s pregnancy. The total cost of supplying the supplements was calculated to be $166.48 per woman per pregnancy, or $6.40 per week.

In addition to seeing a significant reduction in pre-term birth in the DHA group vs. the placebo group (4.8% versus 0.6% reduction, p < 0.05), the researchers found a significant cost benefit in the DHA-supplemented group. Specifically, there was a savings of $1,678 per woman compared to the placebo group regarding birth and hospital readmissions during the first year. Every dollar spent on DHA supplementation produced a 10-fold saving in hospital costs compared to the placebo group.

These statistics led the researches to state that “applying this analysis to 3,988,076 live births in the United States in 2014 (the latest year for which figures are available) 6 suggests a potential savings of $6.60 billion for hospital costs and a net savings of $5.94 billion to the US healthcare system if all pregnant women were provided with 600 milligrams of DHA per day during the last 26 weeks of pregnancy.”

Although they didn’t discuss any potential mechanisms for how DHA improves pregnancy outcomes, the researchers conclude that “a public health policy to increase DHA intake during pregnancy could result in significant cost savings to the healthcare system in our country.”

Source: Shireman et al. Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation (DHA) and the return on investment for pregnancy outcomes. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids 111 (2016) 8–10

© 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 

Posted March 10, 2017

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com.

References:

  1. Dimes Mo. Premature Babies. 2017; Overview of Premature Babies, Health Problems and Care. Available at: http://www.marchofdimes.org/complications/premature-babies.aspx. Accessed January 26, 2017, 2017.
  2. Martin JA HB, Sutton PD. Births: Final Data for 2004. Vol 552006.
  3. The National Academies of Sciences E, and Medicine. Preterm Births Cost U.S. $25 Billion a Year: Multidisciplinary Research Effort Needed to Prevent Early Births. 2006; Report concerning the high rate of premature births in the United States, which constitutes a public health concern that costs society at least $26 billion a year. Available at: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11622. Accessed January 26, 2017, 2017.
  4. Catov JM, Bodnar LM, Kip KE, et al. Early pregnancy lipid concentrations and spontaneous preterm birth. American journal of obstetrics and gynecology. 2007;197(6):610. e611-610. e617.
  5. Shireman T, Kerling E, Gajewski B, Colombo J, Carlson S. Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation (DHA) and the return on investment for pregnancy outcomes. Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Essential Fatty Acids (PLEFA). 2016;111:8-10.
  6. Hamilton BE MJ, Osterman M, Curtin SC, Mathews TJ. Births: Final Data for 2014. Vol 642015.