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Food Fortification With Folic Acid Does The Trick
July 13, 2007 at 4:50 PM
Child Health News
The extensive study which was carried out by Philippe De Wals and team from Laval University in Quebec found that the rate of major defects in newborns like spinal bifida and anencephaly fell from 0.158 percent before folic acid fortification became mandatory in 1998, to 0.086 percent afterward.
The scientists were reported: "Marked reductions in rates of neural-tube defects have occurred across Canada after fortification of food with folic acid was implemented.
Adding folic acid to food has been shown to prevent neural tube defects, which occur when the neural tube, which later turns into the brain and spine, fails to form properly in the womb. This takes place within the first weeks of a pregnancy, often before a woman knows she is pregnant. Spina bifida and anencephaly are the two most common neural tube defects.
The provinces where the rates of neural tube defects were highest before fortification took effect, showed the biggest decline in neural tube defects once the cereals were treated with the B vitamin.
Researchers collected data on almost two million pregnancies from hospitals in seven provinces to observe changing rates of neural-tube defects between 1993 and 2002. A total of 2,446 subjects with such defects were recorded among 1.9 million births. Researchers discovered a 46 per cent overall reduction, and a 53 per cent reduction in spina bifida cases specifically. The decline in prevalence was most noticeable in the Atlantic Provinces, where neural-tube defects were historically highest.
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