Might 12, 2016

News & Views: From the Editors of Health

Does Too Much Folic Acid in Pregnancy Raise Autism Risk?

May 12, 201six | By Healthiness Editor

Photo: Getty Images

By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Might 11, 201six (HealthDay News) — Pregnant women are encouraged to Grab plenty of folic acid in their diet regimen or through vitamin supplements, to protect their babies versus birth defects of the brain and spinal cord.

But a Brand-new study suggests that excessive quantities of folate (vitamin B9) and vitamin B12 in a mother’s physique could Raise a baby’s risk of producing an autism spectrum disorder.

“The Brand-new research question prior to us is to know the optimal dose,” said co-researcher Daniele Fallin. She is a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Healthiness in Baltimore.

“Some [folate] is a good thing. It does appear the levels in the physique could Grab too high, and that would certainly be a poor thing,” she said.

“Supplementation is indeed an essential thing,” Fallin added. “We would certainly not want anyone to interpret from this that they ought to protect against taking vitamin supplements if they are intending to Grab pregnant or if they are pregnant.”

In the study, mothers that had rather higher blood levels of folate at delivery were two times as most likely to have actually a kid along with autism compared to mothers along with normal folate levels.

Researchers additionally found that mothers along with excessive B12 levels were three times as most likely to have actually a kid along with autism.

The risk was greatest among mothers that had excess levels of the two folate and B12—their risk was over 17 times that of a mother along with normal levels of the two nutrients, the investigators reported. However, the study only found an association and could not prove that higher levels caused an increased risk of autism.

The study findings are scheduled for presentation Friday at the Worldwide Meeting for Autism Research in Baltimore.

Folate is found naturally in fruits and vegetables, while the synthetic version, folic acid, is used to fortify cereals and breads in the United States, and in vitamin supplements.

However, expecting mothers shouldn’t toss away their supplements, the researchers stressed.

The study additionally found that women that took folate and B12 supplements three to 5 times a week were much less most likely overall to have actually a kid along with autism, particularly once they’re taken throughout the initial and second trimesters, Fallin said.

The March of Dimes, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and various other medical associations recommend that pregnant women eat folic acid to steer clear of neural tube defects, which happen in regarding 3,000 pregnancies each year in the United States. Spina bifida is the most common of this sort of birth defect.

And recent studies have actually additionally indicated that folate and vitamin B12 could protect a producing fetus versus future autism, Fallin said.

To investigate this effect, Fallin and her colleagues analyzed data from almost 1,400 mother-kid pairs in the Boston Birth Cohort, a predominantly low-income minority population.

The mothers were recruited at the time of their children’s birth between 1998 and 2013, and followed for several years. The study included a check of the mothers’ blood folate levels within three days of delivery.

The researchers found that one in 10 of the women had just what is considered an excess quantity of folate, while six percent had an excess quantity of vitamin B12.

“We saw those women that had very high, much better compared to the recommended amount, of folate or vitamin B12 were Much more most likely to have actually kids that later had a diagnosis of autism,” Fallin said.

Fallin and her colleagues could not say from their data why certain women had excessive levels of folate or B12 in their units about the time of delivery, even though numerous said they took vitamin supplements throughout their pregnancy.

It could be that some women are genetically predisposed to higher levels of folate and B12 in their bodies, or they could be obtaining too much of the nutrient through diet regimen or supplements, she said.

Women ought to talk along with their obstetrician regarding their diet regimen and supplements, and Exactly how those could be affecting their blood levels of folate and B12, Fallin said.

Dr. Paul Wang, senior vice president of medical research for Autism Speaks, agreed that “it’s simply too early to say” just what this study means, particularly due to the fact that it hasn’t yet appeared in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

“We should see the full study,” Wang said. “We should consider every one of the data they have.”

Wang noted that the study does reveal a protective benefit versus autism for folic acid and vitamin B12 in women taking supplements three to 5 times a week.

“just what we’ve constantly believed to be true remains true, that supplements decrease the risk of autism,” Wang said. “The bottom line still is that taking the recommended vitamins is overall decreasing your child’s risk.”

More information

For Much more on folic acid, visit the March of Dimes.