Folic acid
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Data on change in NTD rates for prenatally diagnosed cases, fetal deaths and stillbirths needed before considering whether to increase food fortification, James Mills, MD, et al., National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, say in June 20 JAMA editorial. Mills et al. call for more overall risk/benefit data, noting lack of data on "effect of long-term, high-dose folic acid exposure in children." Editorial accompanies study by CDC researchers Margaret Honein, PhD, et al., finding 19% drop in NTD birth prevalence following mandatory fortification in January 1998, short of maximum expected reduction of 50%. Honein et al. analyzed birth certificate data from January 1990 to December 1999