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Title: Examining associations of folic acid supplements administered to mothers during pre-conceptional and prenatal periods with autism spectrum disorders in their offspring: insights from a multi-center study in China. Author: Jiang Y, Guo C, Kuang M, Lin L, Xu G, Pan N, Weng X, Jing J, Shi L, Yi Q, Wang X. Journal: Front Public Health; 2024; 12():1321046. PubMed ID: 38299071. Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between maternal folic acid (FA) supplementation during the pre-conceptional and prenatal periods and the subsequent risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. METHODS: A total of 6,049 toddlers aged 16-30 months were recruited from August 2016 to March 2017 for this cross-sectional study conducted in China. The parents of the enrolled toddlers provided information on maternal supplemental FA, socio-demographic information, and related covariates. Standard diagnostic procedures were implemented to identify toddlers with ASD. RESULTS: Among the 6,049 children included in the study, consisting of 3,364 boys with an average age of 22.7 ± 4.1 months, a total of 71 children (1.2%) were diagnosed with ASD. Mothers who did not consume FA supplements during the prenatal period were found to have a significantly increased risk of having offspring with ASD, in comparison to those who were exposed to FA supplements (odds ratio [OR] = 2.47). However, we did not find a similar association during the pre-conceptional period. Compared to mothers who consistently used FA supplements from pre-conception to the prenatal period, those who never used FA supplements were statistically significantly associated with a higher risk of ASD in their offspring (OR = 2.88). CONCLUSION: This study indicated that providing continuous maternal FA supplementation during the pre-conceptional and prenatal periods may decrease the risk of ASD in offspring. The prenatal period is considered to be the most crucial time for intervention.[Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]