By Free Republic | Created at 2024-10-19 05:18:39 | Updated at 2024-10-19 07:25:06
2 hours ago
Folic acid may mitigate link between lead exposure during pregnancy and autistic behaviors in children
Medical Xpress / Simon Fraser University / Environmental Health Perspectives ^ | Oct. 16, 2024 | Joshua D. Alampi et al
Posted on 10/18/2024 9:59:26 PM PDT by ConservativeMind
A new study by researchers has found that folate may weaken the link between blood-lead levels in pregnant women and autistic-like behaviors in their children.
Says Alampi, "Our study suggests that adequate folic acid supplementation mitigates the neurotoxic effects of lead."
The SFU-led study is the first to observe that adequate folic acid supplementation may reduce the risk between gestational lead exposure and autism. It found that associations between blood lead levels and autistic-like behaviors in toddlers were stronger among pregnant women with less than 0.4 milligrams per day of folic acid supplementation.
Folate and folic acid, a synthetic version of folate found in fortified food, have long been established as a beneficial nutrient during pregnancy. Folate consumption plays a key role in brain development and prevents neural tube defects. Previous studies have found that the associations between autism and exposure to pesticides, air pollutants and phthalates (chemicals commonly found in soft plastics) during pregnancy tend to be stronger when folic acid supplementation is low.
The team used data collected during 2008–2011 from 2,000 Canadian women enrolled in the MIREC study (Mother-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals). The MIREC team measured blood-lead levels collected during first and third trimesters and surveyed participants to quantify their folic acid supplementation. Children born in this cohort study were assessed at ages three or four using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS), a common caregiver-reported tool that documents autistic-like behaviors in toddlers.
However, researchers also found that high folic acid supplementation (> 1.0 milligram per day) did not appear to have any extra benefit for mitigating the neurotoxic effects of lead exposure.
"The study's finding aligns with Health Canada's recommendation that all people who are pregnant, lactating, or could become pregnant, should take a daily multivitamin containing 0.4 milligrams of folic acid," they explained.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
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I would suggest a form of folate, not folic acid, as not everyone can utilize folic acid.
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2 posted on 10/18/2024 9:59:56 PM PDT by ConservativeMind (Trump: Befuddling Democrats, Republicans, and the Media for the benefit of the US and all mankind.)
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