Folic acid in pregnancy tied to lower autism risk.http://liveup2dates.blogspot.com/

NEW YORK: Women who took Extra folic acid in the weeks before and just after becoming pregnant Were less likely to have a child with autism, in a new study from Norway.

February 13, 2013 - Updated 658 PKT
From Web Edition

Because Lack of folic acid has been tied to brain and spinal cord birth defects, groups Including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) already call for women who may Become pregnant to take daily vitamin B supplements Containing the.


The new study "provides an additional reason to take folic acid, in Addition to the preventive effect That We already know it has against neural tube defects," said Dr. Pal Suren from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, who led the research .


"It underlines the Importance of Starting early, preferably before the pregnancy," I Told Reuters Health.


One in 88 children in the U.S. have an autism spectrum disorder, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number has risen in recent years, but it's unclear Whether that's due to more kids with symptoms or doctors who are more likely to Recognize and diagnose autism.


The new study, Which appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association, does not Prove low folic acid in pregnant women causes babies to Develop Their autism, high doses or That Can Prevent it. And Suren and his colleagues did not see an effect of folic acid on other autism spectrum disorders, Asperger's Such as.


They Followed just over 85.000 Women and Their Children, born Between 2002 and 2008.


When Women Were Their pregnancies About halfway through, They Reported on any supplements or vitamins they'd taken in the few weeks before becoming pregnant and the two months afterward - The Time When folic acid is thought to Have the strongest effect on development.


By the time Between Their kids were three and 10 years old, 270 had been Diagnosed With An Autism Spectrum Disorder, Including 114 with Autism itself.


Suren's team found one in 1.000 babies born to women taking folic acid Reported who early in pregnancy had autism, Compared to About two in 1.000 of Those Whose moms did not take folic acid. On the other hand, there was no link Between fish oil taken during pregnancy and autism risk.


Suggests That it's Something About folic acid, in particular, That influences a baby's autism risk.


"The biggest problem info we have is, how do you know it's folic acid and not just to more health-conscious mother?" said Cathrine Hoyo, who has Studied folic acid supplementation at the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.


"Doing that (analysis) really added another layer Toward convincing us That there is something to it," Hole, Who Was Involved in the new research, Told Reuters Health.


BEFORE PREGNANCY, TOO


Researchers said folic acid's effects on DNA repair genes and its role in Could explain brain development disorders in growing babies, Including autism.


The USPSTF Recommends all women who are planning to take or Could Become Pregnant Between 400 and 800 micrograms of the vitamin daily. The U.S. and Canada have Also required flour to be fortified with folic acid since the late 1990s to cut down on birth defect risks.


Still, "The message for folic acid before pregnancy has been a little bit lost," said Rebecca Schmidt, who has autism and prenatal vitamins Studied at the University of California, Davis.


"If you are not planning to even just pregnancy, but Able to get pregnant, then you Should be taking some sort of folic acid supplement," She Told Reuters Health. (Reuters)