Prevention of neural tube defects by the fortification of flour with folic acid: a population-based retrospective study in Brazil
Adult
Male
Research
Incidence
Flour
Infant, Newborn
Folic Acid Deficiency
Legislation, Food
Stillbirth
Young Adult
03 medical and health sciences
Folic Acid
0302 clinical medicine
Pregnancy
Food, Fortified
Prevalence
Humans
Female
Neural Tube Defects
Sex Distribution
Brazil
Maternal Age
Retrospective Studies
DOI:
10.2471/blt.14.151365
Publication Date:
2016-01-05T08:35:33Z
AUTHORS (5)
ABSTRACT
To determine if the fortification of wheat and maize flours with iron and folic acid - which became mandatory in Brazil from June 2004 - is effective in the prevention of neural tube defects.Using data from national information systems on births in central, south-eastern and southern Brazil, we determined the prevalence of neural tube defects among live births and stillbirths in a pre-fortification period - i.e. 2001-2004 - and in a post-fortification period - i.e. 2005-2014. We distinguished between anencephaly, encephalocele, meningocele, myelomeningocele and other forms of spina bifida.There were 8554 neural tube defects for 17,925,729 live births notified between 2001 and 2014. For the same period, 2673 neural tube defects were reported for 194,858 stillbirths. The overall prevalence of neural tube defects fell from 0.79 per 1000 pre-fortification to 0.55 per 1000 post-fortification (prevalence ratio, PR: 1.43; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.38-1.50). For stillbirths, prevalence fell from 17.74 per 1000 stillbirths pre-fortification to 11.70 per 1000 stillbirths post-fortification. The corresponding values among live births were 0.57 and 0.44, respectively.The introduction of the mandatory fortification of flour with iron and folic acid in Brazil was followed by a significant reduction in the prevalence of neural tube defects in our study area.
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