Folic acid

Executive Summary

Open neural tube defects declined from 1.13 per 1,000 pregnancies to .58 per 1,000 after folic acid supplementation of Canadian cereal grain products became widespread in January 1998, Joel Ray, MD, Sunnybrook & Women's College Health Sciences Center, Toronto, et al. report in Dec. 21 issue of The Lancet. Study encompassed 336,963 women who underwent maternal serum screening between January 1994 and May 2000. "At a population level, folic acid food fortification is associated with a pronounced reduction in open neural tube defects," authors conclude...