Dietary intake of eggs and its effect on growth and choline and betaine plasma concentration in Syrian children aged 1-5

Background: Nutrition plays an important role in providing the essential elements needed for the anabolism process during the growth stages of children, whether by providing macronutrients such as proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, or micronutrients such as minerals and vitamins. One of the most important micronutrients is choline and its metabolite betaine, which are essential elements of the one-carbon metabolism pathway. Eggs are one of the most important, and commonly used foods, and are considered an important source of many macronutrients and micronutrients, including choline. Many studies confirm the importance of relying on it in supplementary nutrition at early stages. Our study investigated the effect of the nutritional pattern, especially egg intake, on growth in a group of Syrian children and on the availability of elements of the one-carbon metabolism pathway, including choline and betaine. We found a link between increased egg intake in Syrian children and increased linear growth. It was also noted that choline levels increased in children when egg intake was almost daily (more than 3 eggs per week), while betaine levels were not affected.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 344 Syrian children aged 1-5 years. A questionnaire was conducted to investigate the nature of food intake and frequency of egg consumption. They also underwent anthropometric measurements, and blood samples were taken to investigate plasma levels of choline and betaine, which was done using Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Results: Increased egg intake was associated with an increase in linear growth Height-for-age (HAZ) in children, especially when consuming two or more eggs per week. Increased egg intake was also associated with an increase in plasma choline levels in children who had an egg intake of more than three eggs per week or almost daily, without an increase in plasma betaine levels.

Conclusions: Increasing egg intake supports growth in children, especially linear and weight growth, as increased egg intake was accompanied by an increase in linear growth (HAZ), and this was accompanied by an increase in choline in children with an increase in egg intake almost daily, and this supports the importance of eggs as a food source rich in nutrients, and one of the most important of which is choline, which contributes to supporting growth.