Preconception folic acid supplementation for the prevention of birth defects: a prospective, population-based cohort study in mainland China.
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
; 24(1): 114, 2024 Feb 06.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38321376
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Folic acid supplementation is recommended for reducing the risk of birth defects. We aimed to assess the protective association of periconception folic acid supplements with birth defects in real-world setting.METHODS:
This prospective, population-based cohort study utilized national preconception registered data of married Chinese couples planning a pregnancy within 6 months between 2010 and 2012 in Mainland China. Participated women are freely provided folic acid starting 3 months before conception till 3 months after conception. Birth defects were self-reported at 42 days postpartumn followup. R software (v4.0.2) was applied for statistical analyses.RESULTS:
Complete data of 567,547 couples with pregnancy outcomes and folic acid supplementation were extracted for final analysis. A total of 74.7% women were with folic acid supplementation, and 599 birth defects were self-reported. The odd of birth defects was lower among women taking folic acid compared to their counterparts not taking (0.102% vs 0.116%, P < 0.001). In the multiple logistic regression analyses, the odd of birth defects was lower among couples with maternal folic acid supplementation (OR = 0.78, 95%CI 0.66-0.95, P = 0.011), especially decreased odd of neural tube defects (NTDs) (OR = 0.56, 95%CI 0.39-0.82, P = 0.003). This association was confirmed by 14 and 110 case control analysis. Odds of birth defects were significantly lower among women with folic acid supplementation more than 3 months before pregnancy (P < 0.001), and moreover, the odds of cleft (P = 0.007) and NTDs (P = 0.007) were of notable decrease.CONCLUSION:
This retrospective case cohort study provides programmatic evidence for public health strategy-making to for reducing the risk of NTDs and clefts.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Folic Acid
/
Neural Tube Defects
Type of study:
Etiology_studies
/
Incidence_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Pregnancy
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
BMC Pregnancy Childbirth
Journal subject:
OBSTETRICIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China
Country of publication:
United kingdom