Abstract
BACKGROUND
It is well established that women who have had a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect (NTD) have an elevated risk of a subsequent NTD-affected pregnancy and that a high dose (4 mg/day) of folic acid taken around the time of conception prevents most recurrences of NTDs.
METHODS
We reviewed the literature to identify studies that quantify the reduction in risk if women with a prior-NTD affected pregnancy consistently take folic acid before and during a subsequent pregnancy and the effectiveness of NTD recurrence prevention programs in increasing the percentage of women who consistently consume folic acid supplements.
RESULTS
A meta-analysis of randomized trials of folic acid for the prevention of recurrent NTDs indicates a 69% reduction in recurrence risk if analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis and an 87% reduction among those women who took supplements prior to the beginning of pregnancy. Observational studies report reductions in recurrence risk of 85% to 100% among women taking folic acid prior to subsequent pregnancies. The percentage of women who take folic acid prior to a subsequent pregnancy has been reported to vary from 33% to 85%, varying with the demographic background and the intensity of folic acid counseling efforts.
CONCLUSIONS
Targeted folic acid information and counseling provided to women with an NTD-affected pregnancy has been demonstrated to substantially reduce the risk of recurrent NTDs and is feasible to implement on a public health basis.
TY - JOUR
T1 - Folic acid supplementation and neural tube defect recurrence prevention.
AU - Grosse,Scott D,
AU - Collins,Julianne S,
PY - 2007/11/9/pubmed
PY - 2008/1/30/medline
PY - 2007/11/9/entrez
SP - 737
EP - 42
JF - Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology
JO - Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol
VL - 79
IS - 11
N2 - BACKGROUND: It is well established that women who have had a pregnancy affected by a neural tube defect (NTD) have an elevated risk of a subsequent NTD-affected pregnancy and that a high dose (4 mg/day) of folic acid taken around the time of conception prevents most recurrences of NTDs. METHODS: We reviewed the literature to identify studies that quantify the reduction in risk if women with a prior-NTD affected pregnancy consistently take folic acid before and during a subsequent pregnancy and the effectiveness of NTD recurrence prevention programs in increasing the percentage of women who consistently consume folic acid supplements. RESULTS: A meta-analysis of randomized trials of folic acid for the prevention of recurrent NTDs indicates a 69% reduction in recurrence risk if analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis and an 87% reduction among those women who took supplements prior to the beginning of pregnancy. Observational studies report reductions in recurrence risk of 85% to 100% among women taking folic acid prior to subsequent pregnancies. The percentage of women who take folic acid prior to a subsequent pregnancy has been reported to vary from 33% to 85%, varying with the demographic background and the intensity of folic acid counseling efforts. CONCLUSIONS: Targeted folic acid information and counseling provided to women with an NTD-affected pregnancy has been demonstrated to substantially reduce the risk of recurrent NTDs and is feasible to implement on a public health basis.
SN - 1542-0752
UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/17990333/Folic_acid_supplementation_and_neural_tube_defect_recurrence_prevention_
DB - PRIME
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -