Autism is less common with folic acid supplementation

serrnovik/epictura

Published the 04.01.2018 at 13: 00

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Keywords :

autismeacide foliquegrossesse

The use of folic acid supplements and multivitamins by women before and during pregnancy is associated with a lower likelihood of autism spectrum disorder among children, but this conclusion must be interpreted with caution because other factors intercurrents may explain it. This is what emerges from a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
A vitamin deficiency during pregnancy is associated in some studies, deficits of neuronal development in children. To avoid neural tube defects in children, it is recommended that pregnant women take folic acid during pregnancy, but the results of the studies on this association are contradictory.

A reduction of the risk which is still likely

To untangle the true from the false, 45 300 israeli children born between 2003-2007 were reviewed. At the end of the analyses, the association between supplement use by the mother and the likelihood of autism in children has been reported as a statistical measure known as the relative risk (a relative risk less than 1 suggests a lower risk).
The decision by the mother of folic acid supplements and multi-vitamins before and during pregnancy appears to be associated with a reduction of this risk in children compared to children of mothers who do not ingest not.

However, the authors cannot exclude that the reduction in risk is due to other causes associated with it. Other complementary studies are therefore essential.