Preconceptional folic acid supplementation in Japan

Hirahara, Fumiki; Hamanoue, Haruka; Kurasawa, Kentaro

doi:10.1111/cga.12238

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Folic acid is one of the B-group water-soluble vitamins, which as a coenzyme transfers one-carbon units for the deoxythymidylate synthesis, purine synthesis, and various methylation reactions, and has been clinically involved in the prevention of cancer, 1 dementia, 2 cardiovascular diseases, 3 and neural tube defects (NTDs). 4,5 NTDs comprising myelomeningocele and anencephaly develop around 6 weeks of the gestation or 4 weeks after the conception. During a past quarter of the century an NTD has been recognized as a folic acidpreventable congenital disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real prevalence of neural tube defects in Japan: How many of such pregnancies have been terminated?

Kondo¹,

Akada

Akiyama

et al. 2019

Congenital Anomalies

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The vital role of folic acid is to reduce the risk of having a neonate afflicted with neural tube defects. The prevalence of neural tube defects (myelomeningocele and anencephaly) has been reported in an incomplete form over the last 40 years in Japan. We aimed to evaluate the total number of neural tube defects including those delivered or terminated, to clarify the proportion of those terminated, and to internationally compare their prevalence. Through information on >311 000 deliveries obtained from 262 hospitals/clinics for 2 years of 2014 and 2015, we identified that the rate of total neural tube defects (termination of pregnancy, live births and stillbirths) was 8.29 per 10 000 deliveries for the year 2014 and was 8.72 for 2015, which were 1.5 and 1.6 times higher than the respective values (live births and stillbirths) reported. It is also observed that the ratio of the total number of myelomeningocele (termination of pregnancy, live births, and stillbirths) to that of anencephaly was approximately 1:1.2, that a half of pregnancies afflicted with neural tube defects were terminated, and that the proportion of termination of pregnancy due to myelomeningocele and due to anencephaly was 20% and 80%, respectively. Internationally, the real prevalence of neural tube defects in Japan was comparatively high, ranking fifth among the seven developed countries. In conclusion, the real prevalence of total neural tube defects was approximately 1.5 times higher than that currently reported by the Japan Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real prevalence of neural tube defects in Japan: How many of such pregnancies have been terminated?

Kondo¹,

Akada

Akiyama

et al. 2019

Congenital Anomalies

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“…In order to prevent NTDs, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends periconceptional folic acid supplementation, i.e., that all women take a daily supplement of 400 μg FA from the moment they plan to conceive until 12 weeks of gestation [14]. Following confirmation by the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study in 1991, most Western countries have recommended FA supplementation [15,16,17]. In Vietnam, the latest national guidelines on nutrition for pregnant women (in accordance with the Decision 776/2017-QD-BYT) were issued in 2017, which recommend supplementation with a daily dose of 400 μg FA during pregnancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low Prevalence of Folic Acid Supplementation during Pregnancy: A Multicenter Study in Vietnam

Zhao

Binns

et al. 2019

Nutrients

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Periconceptional folic acid (FA) supplementation is recommended to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs), but little information is known about its use in Vietnam. It is important that FA supplements start to be taken when planning a pregnancy and continued through the first trimester to prevent NTDs, as the neural tube closes in the first month of pregnancy. However, FA supplementation in Vietnam is usually recommended to commence from the first antenatal visit, which is usually at 16 weeks, and very few women take FA before their first visit. This multicenter study aimed to determine the prevalence of FA supplement use and associated maternal characteristics in Vietnam. FA supplementation was assessed in 2030 singleton pregnant women between 2015 and 2016. In total, 654 (32.2%) women reported taking either supplements containing FA alone or multivitamins containing FA, and 505 (24.9%) reported correctly taking supplements containing FA alone. Women who were aged 30 years or over, had low education levels, had formal employment, and whose current pregnancy was first or unplanned were less likely to supplement with FA. Education programs are needed to encourage FA supplementation when contemplating pregnancy.

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“… 36 The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare recommends folic acid supplementation during pregnancy. 37 However, in Japan, folic acid supplementation is not popular, but many pregnant women know the positive effects of folic acid supplementation on neural tube defects. 37 In this study, the percentage of pregnant women receiving folic acid supplementation in Japan was also relatively low (prevalence was 27.1%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… 37 However, in Japan, folic acid supplementation is not popular, but many pregnant women know the positive effects of folic acid supplementation on neural tube defects. 37 In this study, the percentage of pregnant women receiving folic acid supplementation in Japan was also relatively low (prevalence was 27.1%). The PAF of non-use of a folic acid supplement for CL±P in this study was larger than that in the United States (15.1% vs 3.34%).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Attributable Fractions of Modifiable Risk Factors for Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts: A Prospective Cohort Study From the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

Sato

Yoshioka

Saijo

et al. 2021

Journal of Epidemiology

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Preconceptional folic acid supplementation in Japan

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Real prevalence of neural tube defects in Japan: How many of such pregnancies have been terminated?

Real prevalence of neural tube defects in Japan: How many of such pregnancies have been terminated?

Low Prevalence of Folic Acid Supplementation during Pregnancy: A Multicenter Study in Vietnam

Population Attributable Fractions of Modifiable Risk Factors for Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts: A Prospective Cohort Study From the Japan Environment and Children’s Study

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