No Increased Risk of Miscarriage From Folic Acid Supplements (p 796)September 05, 2001Women who consume folic acid supplements around the time of conception are not at an increased risk of miscarriage, conclude authors of a population-based study published in this weke’s issue of THE LANCET. Although it is well known that folic acid supplements can reduce the risk of infant neural-tube defects (NTDs), its effects on other pregnancy outcomes are unclear; a previous study suggested that folic acid could increase the risk of miscarriage by up to 16%. Jacqueline Gindler and colleagues from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA, and Peking University Health Sciences Center, China, studied Chinese women who had taken part in a folic-acid campaign to prevent infant NTDs and who had registered in this campaign before they became pregnant for the first time. The investigators assessed the risk for miscarriage among women who had confirmed pregnancies and who had or had not taken pills containing only 400 µg of folic acid before and during early pregnancy. The overall rate of miscarriage was 9.1% (2155 of 23 806 women). The rates of miscarriage among women who had and had not taken folic acid pills before and during the first three months of pregnancy were 9% and 9.3%, respectively. Demographic data of the women and the average time at miscarriage were similar between the two groups. Robert Berry (one of the investigators) comments: “In this population-based study of a cohort of women whose use of folic acid supplements while pregnant had been previously documented and who had been pregnant for the first time, we found no evidence that daily consumption of 400 µg of folic acid before and during early pregnancy influenced their risk for miscarriage.” Lancet |
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| Related Folic Acid Current Events and Folic Acid News Articles Mortality Rates Reduced among Children Whose Mothers Received Iron-folic Acid Supplements Offspring whose mothers had been supplemented with iron-folic acid during pregnancy had dramatically reduced mortality through age 7, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. News brief: Effects of aspirin and folic acid on inflammation markers for colorectal adenomas Unexpectedly, inflammation markers do not appear to be involved with the chemopreventative effect of aspirin on colorectal adenomas, according to a brief communication published online October 12 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Essential nutrient found in eggs may help lower risk of neural tube defects Research published online in the journal Epidemiology found that higher levels of total blood choline are associated with a 2.5-fold reduction in risk for neural tube birth defects (NTDs). Anti-epilepsy drug risk on cognitive function for unborn children Interim results of a study being conducted by scientists at the University of Liverpool suggest that children aged three years and younger, who are born to women taking the anti-epileptic drug sodium valproate whilst pregnant, are likely to have an IQ of six to nine points lower than average. Irish-led research team rule out link between specific antibodies and spina bifida New research, published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, shows that a woman's risk of having a child with a neural tube defect (NTD), such as Spina Bifida, is not linked to folic acid related auto-antibodies. Brain malformations significantly associated with preterm birth, Wake Forest research shows New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides for the first time a solid scientific answer for the long-standing question of whether there is an association between preterm birth and brain malformations. UCF researcher's nanoparticles could someday lead to end of chemotherapy Nanoparticles specially engineered by University of Central Florida Assistant Professor J. Manuel Perez and his colleagues could someday target and destroy tumors, sparing patients from toxic, whole-body chemotherapies. Some neural tube defects in mice linked to enzyme deficiency Women of childbearing age can reduce the risk of having a child born with a neural tube defect such as spina bifida by eating enough folate or folic acid. However, folate prevents only about 70 percent of these defects. Folic acid to prevent congenital heart defects The Canadian policy of fortifying grain products with folic acid has already proved to be effective in preventing neural tube defects. Taking folic acid for a year before pregnancy may reduce risk of preterm birth Women who take folic acid supplements for at least one year before they become pregnant may cut their risk of having a premature baby by half, according to research published this week in the online journal, PLoS Medicine. More Folic Acid Current Events and Folic Acid News Articles |
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