Examining associations of folic acid supplements administered to mothers during pre-conceptional and prenatal periods with autism spectrum disorders in their offspring: insights from a multi-center study in China.
Front Public Health
; 12: 1321046, 2024.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38299071
ABSTRACT
Objective:
To investigate the relationship between maternal folic acid (FA) supplementation during the pre-conceptional and prenatal periods and the subsequent risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring.Methods:
A total of 6,049 toddlers aged 16-30 months were recruited from August 2016 to March 2017 for this cross-sectional study conducted in China. The parents of the enrolled toddlers provided information on maternal supplemental FA, socio-demographic information, and related covariates. Standard diagnostic procedures were implemented to identify toddlers with ASD.Results:
Among the 6,049 children included in the study, consisting of 3,364 boys with an average age of 22.7 ± 4.1 months, a total of 71 children (1.2%) were diagnosed with ASD. Mothers who did not consume FA supplements during the prenatal period were found to have a significantly increased risk of having offspring with ASD, in comparison to those who were exposed to FA supplements (odds ratio [OR] = 2.47). However, we did not find a similar association during the pre-conceptional period. Compared to mothers who consistently used FA supplements from pre-conception to the prenatal period, those who never used FA supplements were statistically significantly associated with a higher risk of ASD in their offspring (OR = 2.88).Conclusion:
This study indicated that providing continuous maternal FA supplementation during the pre-conceptional and prenatal periods may decrease the risk of ASD in offspring. The prenatal period is considered to be the most crucial time for intervention.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Transtorno do Espectro Autista
/
Ácido Fólico
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Etiology_studies
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Observational_studies
/
Prevalence_studies
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Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Child, preschool
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Female
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Humans
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Infant
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Male
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Pregnancy
País/Região como assunto:
Asia
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Front Public Health
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
China