A nutrient found in fish may be vitally important in early human development, according to a study published by a Kansas University research team.

The study may convince pregnant women to change their diets or take nutritional supplements of docosahexaenoic acid, because babies born to mothers with high levels of DHA have better attention spans.

“Attention is a precursor to learning,” said John Colombo, professor of psychology. “It’s a hugely important component in how people develop. An advantage like that — even if it’s a small advantage — may be important.”

The research team, which also includes Susan Carlson, professor of nutrition at the KU Medical Center, and Kathleen Kannass, research associate at the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, published its findings in the current issue of the journal Child Development.

It built its findings on a previous study that concluded DHA found naturally in breast milk is beneficial to cognitive development. That study helped convince several major manufacturers of infant formula to include DHA in their products.

The new study says those benefits also are true for infants exposed to higher levels of DHA before birth. Levels of the omega-3 fatty acid accumulate in the brain in the third trimester.

The KU researchers measured levels of DHA in about 70 mothers’ blood, then tracked cognitive development in their babies. At age 6 months, children whose mothers had high levels of the nutrient tended to have children with attention spans that were two months ahead of children whose mothers had lower DHA levels. The babies continued to be further in development through 18 months.

DHA is found in salmon, mackerel and cod but also can be taken as supplement pills or in fortified eggs.

Colombo said it wasn’t clear how much of the nutrient should be consumed by mothers. The research team has submitted a grant proposal to the National Institutes of Health to complete further research.

Colombo said he thought the research could lead to monitoring of DHA, but he wasn’t sure if supplements of the acid would be suggested for all pregnant women.

“I don’t know if they’d need to do that,” he said. “But it’s something people would check and make sure they have enough of in their diet.”