Summary: Research shows that folic acid supplementation during pregnancy may reduce the association between maternal blood lead levels and autism-like behavior in children. By examining data from pregnant women and their infants, researchers found a strong association between lead exposure and autistic traits when folate intake was low.
Adequate folic acid intake of 0.4 mg daily appears to reduce these neurotoxic effects, but no additional benefit was seen with higher doses. This finding is consistent with recommendations for folic acid intake to support neurodevelopment and reduce potential environmental risks.
Important facts:
Folic acid may reduce the risk of autism associated with lead exposure during pregnancy. A strong association between lead and autism was found when folate intake was low. High levels of folic acid (>1.0 mg/day) showed no additional protective effect.
Source: Simon Fraser University
A new study by researchers at Simon Fraser University has found that folic acid may weaken the link between blood lead levels in pregnant women and autism-like behaviors in children.
Researchers in the SFU School of Health Sciences, led by doctoral candidate Joshua Alampi, published the study in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
“Folic acid supplementation during pregnancy has many benefits for the child’s health, especially brain development,” says Alampi. “Our study suggests that adequate folic acid supplementation reduces the neurotoxic effects of lead.”
The SFU-led study is the first to observe that adequate folic acid supplementation may reduce the risk between lead exposure during pregnancy and autism. They found that the association between blood lead levels and autism-like behavior in young children was stronger among pregnant women who consumed less than 0.4 milligrams of folic acid per day.
Folic acid, and the synthetic version of folic acid found in fortified foods, has long been established as a beneficial nutrient during pregnancy. Folic acid intake plays an important role in brain development and prevents neural tube defects.
Previous studies have shown that the association between autism during pregnancy and exposure to pesticides, air pollutants, and phthalates (chemicals commonly found in soft plastics) is stronger when folic acid supplementation is low. It is known that there is a tendency to
The research team used data collected between 2008 and 2011 from 2,000 Canadian women enrolled in the MIREC study (Mother and Child Research on Environmental Chemicals). The MIREC team measured blood lead levels collected during the first and third trimester of pregnancy and surveyed participants to quantify folic acid supplementation.
Children born in this cohort study were tested at age 3 or 4 using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), a common caregiver-report tool that records autism-like behavior in young children. It was evaluated when
However, the researchers also found that high-dose folic acid supplementation (1.0 milligrams per day or more) did not appear to have any additional benefit in reducing the neurotoxic effects of lead exposure.
“The findings of this study are consistent with Health Canada’s recommendation that all people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or who may become pregnant should take a daily multivitamin containing 0.4 milligrams of folic acid.”
About this neurodevelopment and autism research news
Author: Geoff Hodson
Source: Simon Fraser University
Contact: Geoff Hodson – Simon Fraser University
Image: Image credited to Neuroscience News
Original research: Open access.
“Combined exposure to folate and lead during pregnancy and autism-like behavior in Canadian children in the MIREC Pregnancy and Birth Cohort” by Joshua Alampi et al., Environmental Health Perspective
abstract
Combined exposure to folate and lead during pregnancy and autism-like behavior in Canadian children in the MIREC Pregnancy and Birth Cohort.
background:
Folic acid (FA) supplementation may attenuate the association between exposure to certain chemicals during pregnancy and autism or autism-like behavior, but to our knowledge this has not been evaluated.
the purpose:
We investigated whether the relationship between gestational plasma lead concentration (BLL) and autism-like behavior is modified by gestational plasma total folate concentration, FA supplementation, and maternal methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C>T genotype. I looked into it.
method:
We used data from the Canadian Pregnancy and Birth Cohort Study, the Mother-Child Study of Environmental Chemicals (2008–2011). Childhood autism-like behavior was recorded in 601 children aged 3 to 4 years using the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2), with higher scores indicating more autism. This indicates that there are many such actions. We measured BLL and plasma total folate concentrations during the first and third trimester of pregnancy.
We also estimated FA supplementation during pregnancy through a study and genotyped the maternal MTHFR 677C>T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Linear regression was used to estimate confounder-adjusted associations between log2-transformed BLL and SRS-2 scores by two indicators: folate exposure and maternal MTHFR 677C>T genotype.
result:
Third trimester BLL increased SRS-2 scores (β𝑎𝑑𝑗=3.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1, 5.5). In patients in the intermediate category (≥10th and <80th percentile), total folate concentrations increased but the BLL-SRS-2 association was zero (β𝑎𝑑𝑗=−0.3; 95% CI: -1.2, 0.5). (p interaction <0.001). FA supplementation also attenuated these associations.
Both folate indicators altered the BLL-SRS-2 association in the first trimester, but to a lesser extent. The third trimester BLL-SRS-2 association was slightly stronger among participants homozygous for the T (minor) allele of the MTHFR 677C>T SNP (β𝑎𝑑𝑗=0.9; 95 % CI: -1.2, 3.1). those without the T allele (β𝑎𝑑𝑗=-0.3; 95% CI: -1.3, 0.7), but the difference was not statistically significant (𝑝-interaction=0.28).
Discussion:
Folic acid may alter the association between lead exposure during pregnancy and childhood autism-like behaviors, suggesting that folic acid reduces the neurotoxic effects of prenatal lead exposure. Masu.
