Achieving a public health recommendation for preventing neural tube defects with folic acid

M.M. Werler, C. Louik and A.A. Mitchell

American Journal of Public Health, 1999, vol. 89, issue 11, 1637-1640

Abstract: Objectives. This study examined 3 approaches to achieving the public health recommendation that all women of childbearing age ingest 0.40 mg of folic acid per day to reduce the occurrence of neural tube defects (NTDs). Methods. A total of 1136 mothers of infants with major malformations from the Boston and Philadelphia areas, whose pregnancies began from 1993 to 1995. were interviewed within 6 months of delivery about vitamin supplementation, dietary intakes, and other factors. Results. Seventy-one percent of the 1136 women in the study did not take folic acid - containing supplements daily before conception, but the proportion decreased over the years of the study. Women not taking supplements consumed an average of 0.25 mg of naturally occurring folates daily. On the basis of dietary intakes reported by women not taking folic acid supplements, a simulation of cereal grain fortification with folic acid at the level required by the US Food and Drug Administration showed that an average of only 0.13 mg of folic acid would be ingested daily. Conclusions. With consumption of folic acid only through dietary intake, sizeable portions of the childbearing population would receive less than the level of folic acid recommended for preventing NTDs. Even with food fortification, women of childbearing age should be advised to take folic acid-containing supplements on a daily basis.

Date: 1999
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:1999:89:11:1637-1640_5

Access Statistics for this article

American Journal of Public Health is currently edited by Alfredo Morabia

More articles in American Journal of Public Health from American Public Health Association
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Christopher F Baum ().