Folic Acid in Pregnancy May Lower Autism Risk
Folic Acid in Pregnancy May Lower Autism Risk
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Feb. 12 (HealthDay News) -- A new study suggests that women who start taking folic acidsupplements either before or early in their pregnancy may reduce their child's risk of developing autism.
"The study does not prove that folic acid supplements can prevent childhood autism. But it does provide an indication that folic acid might be preventive," said study lead author Dr. Pal Suren, from the division of epidemiology at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo.
"The findings also provide a rationale for further investigations of possible causes, as well as investigations of whether folic acid is associated with a reduced risk of other brain disorders in children," he said.
Taking folic acid supplements during pregnancy is already known to prevent birth defects such as spina bifida, which affects the spine, and anencephaly, which causes part of the brain to be missing.
Alycia Halladay, senior director of environmental and clinical sciences at Autism Speaks, said that "parents always wonder what they can do to reduce the risk [of autism], and this [folic acid] is a very inexpensive item that mothers can do both before pregnancy and very early in their pregnancy."
As to why folic acid may be beneficial, Halladay speculated that the nutrient might blunt a genetic risk for autism or boost other processes during pregnancy that are protective.
Another expert, Dr. Roberto Tuchman, director of the Autism and Neurodevelopment Program at Miami Children's Hospital's Dan Marino Center, said, "This study suggests that in some kids autism spectrum disorders may be preventable. As a clinician who works with autism spectrum disorders it is exciting that we can look at potentially preventable factors in autism. This is really encouraging."
Still, Tuchman cautioned that the study findings are very preliminary, and it isn't possible to tell which autism spectrum disorders, if any, folic acid may prevent.
The study findings were published in the Feb. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
To see whether folic acid might protect children from autism, Suren's team collected data on more than 85,000 children born in Norway from 2002 to 2008.
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Feb. 12 (HealthDay News) -- A new study suggests that women who start taking folic acidsupplements either before or early in their pregnancy may reduce their child's risk of developing autism.
"The study does not prove that folic acid supplements can prevent childhood autism. But it does provide an indication that folic acid might be preventive," said study lead author Dr. Pal Suren, from the division of epidemiology at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo.
"The findings also provide a rationale for further investigations of possible causes, as well as investigations of whether folic acid is associated with a reduced risk of other brain disorders in children," he said.
Taking folic acid supplements during pregnancy is already known to prevent birth defects such as spina bifida, which affects the spine, and anencephaly, which causes part of the brain to be missing.
Alycia Halladay, senior director of environmental and clinical sciences at Autism Speaks, said that "parents always wonder what they can do to reduce the risk [of autism], and this [folic acid] is a very inexpensive item that mothers can do both before pregnancy and very early in their pregnancy."
As to why folic acid may be beneficial, Halladay speculated that the nutrient might blunt a genetic risk for autism or boost other processes during pregnancy that are protective.
Another expert, Dr. Roberto Tuchman, director of the Autism and Neurodevelopment Program at Miami Children's Hospital's Dan Marino Center, said, "This study suggests that in some kids autism spectrum disorders may be preventable. As a clinician who works with autism spectrum disorders it is exciting that we can look at potentially preventable factors in autism. This is really encouraging."
Still, Tuchman cautioned that the study findings are very preliminary, and it isn't possible to tell which autism spectrum disorders, if any, folic acid may prevent.
The study findings were published in the Feb. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
To see whether folic acid might protect children from autism, Suren's team collected data on more than 85,000 children born in Norway from 2002 to 2008.
