Effects of maternal folic acid supplementation during pregnancy on infant neurodevelopment at 1 month of age: a birth cohort study in China.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore effects of maternal folic acid (FA) supplementation during pregnancy on neurodevelopment in 1-month-old infants and to determine whether effects may be related to maternal circulating inflammatory cytokine concentrations. METHODS: This birth cohort study recruited 1186 mother-infant pairs in Tianjin, China, between July 2015 and July 2017. The women completed interviewer-administered questionnaires on their lifestyles and FA supplementation during pregnancy. Neurodevelopment was assessed in 1-month-old infants using a standard neuropsychological examination table. In 192 women, serum homocysteine (Hcy) and inflammatory cytokine concentrations were measured at 16-18 weeks of gestation. RESULTS: The infants whose mothers took FA supplements during pregnancy had a significantly higher development quotient (DQ) compared with those whose mothers were non-users (P < 0.05). After adjustment for maternal characteristics, supplementary FA use for 1-3 months, 3-6 months, and > 6 months were associated with the increases of 7.7, 11.0, and 7.4 units in the scale of infant DQ score compared with women reporting no supplement use, respectively (P < 0.05). FA supplementation was associated with a decreased serum concentration of Hcy (ß = [Formula: see text] 0.19), which was correlated with women's serum inflammatory cytokine concentrations at 16-18 weeks of gestation (ß = 0.57). Serum inflammatory cytokine concentrations were inversely related to DQ score in the 1-months-old offspring (ß = [Formula: see text] 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal FA supplementation during pregnancy favors neurodevelopment in the offspring at 1-month-old. This association may be mediated by changes in serum Hcy and inflammatory cytokine concentrations throughout pregnancy.

Periconceptional Folic Acid Supplementation in Chinese Women: A Cross-sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the status of folic acid (FA) supplementation and determinants of its use in pregnant Chinese women. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires were used to collect information of participants and FA supplementation. Women were recruited between 6 and 12 weeks postpartum in Tianjin, China, between July 2015 and July 2016. RESULTS: A total of 1,921 women were recruited in the study. Approximately 93.1% of the study participants used FA, while 14.4% of the women taking FA from three months prior to preconception to three months post-conception. Women who took FA for three months prior to preconception through at least three months into their pregnancy were more likely to be between 30 and 34 years old (OR = 2.91, 95% CI: 1.15, 7.33), employed (OR = 2.07, 95% CI: 1.17, 3.67), primigravida (OR = 5.20, 95% CI: 3.02, 8.96), married to spouses with an intermediate education level (OR = 2.92, 95% CI: 1.45, 5.89), and earn a high family income (OR = 3.19, 95% CI: 1.57, 6.49). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of periconceptional FA intake was far below the requirements of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China; therefore, knowledge of FA supplementation should be strengthened among women who are or planning to become pregnant.

[Observation on therapeutic effects of red-hot needle therapy on nodules of breast of the type of stagnation of liver-qi and phlegm coagulation].

OBJECTIVE: To compare therapeutic effects of red-hot needle therapy and filiform needle therapy on nodules of breast of the type of stagnation of liver-qi and phlegm coagulation. METHODS: Six hundred cases were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group, 300 cases in each group. The treatment group were treated with red-hot needle pricking at the proliferative parts and Ashi points as main, and the control group with filiform needle therapy. RESULTS: In the treatment group, 240 cases were cured, 58 cases improved and 2 cases were not cured with an effective rate of 99.3%; and in the control group, 113 cases were cured, 165 cases improved and 22 were not cured with an effective rate of 92.7%, with a significant difference between the two groups (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The therapeutic effect of red-hot needle therapy is better than that of filiform needle therapy on nodules of breast of the type of stagnation of liver-qi and phlegm coagulation.