Awareness of folic acid use increases its consumption, and reduces the risk of spina bifida.

The majority of neural tube defects were believed to be folic acid (FA)-preventable in the 1990s. The Japanese government recommended women planning pregnancy to take FA supplements of 400 μg/d in 2000, but the incidence of spina bifida has not decreased. We aimed to evaluate the OR of having an infant with spina bifida for women who periconceptionally took FA supplements and the association between an increase in supplement use and possible promoters for the increase.

C677T mutation in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene and neural tube defects: should Japanese women undergo gene screening before pregnancy?

We analyzed the role of maternal C677T mutation in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene on spina bifida development in newborns. A total of 115 mothers who had given birth to a spina bifida child (SB mothers) gave 10 mL of blood together with written informed consent. The genotype distribution of C677T mutation was assessed and compared with that of the 4517 control individuals.

Risk factors for the occurrence of spina bifida (a case-control study) and the prevalence rate of spina bifida in Japan.

Background: The Japanese government recommended in 2000 that women planning pregnancy should take 400 μg of folic acid daily to decrease the risk of having an infant with spina bifida. We aimed to identify risk factors for the occurrence of spina bifida and to evaluate how the prevalence rate has altered over the past 3 decades.

Methods: Subjects comprised 360 women who gave birth to spina bifida-affected offspring and 2333 women who gave birth to offspring without spina bifida between 2001 and 2012.

[Changes in life styles of pregnant women and risks for having a pregnancy afflicted with spina bifida].

Aims: Though periconceptional intakes of folic acid could prevent the occurrence of spina bifida by 50 to 70%, the prevalence has not shown any decreasing tendency during the past 30 years in Japan. We aim to analyze various parameters through life style questionnaires and 3-day food records obtained from pregnant women the last 10 years, and to examine whether their life styles have been shifting to the direction of lowering the incidence of spina bifida.

Materials And Methods: Life style questionnaires inquired of knowledge of folic acid in relation to preventing spina bifida during a pregnancy and other relevant parameters, which were collected from 11,861 participants during a period of from 2002 to 2011.

Dietary folate intakes and effects of folic acid supplementation on folate concentrations among Japanese pregnant women.

Aim: To quantify the consumed amount of dietary folate and to evaluate effects of folic acid and balanced diets on serum folate concentrations.

Material & Methods: Food records collected from 641 pregnant women were assessed to quantify the consumed amount of dietary folate for a 6-year period from 2003 to 2008. Changes in serum folate concentrations were evaluated among 80 pregnant women who either took folic acid tablets or consumed balanced diets in 2008.

Folic acid in the prevention of neural tube defects: awareness among laywomen and healthcare providers in Japan.

It is known that neural tube defects are folic acid preventable congenital anomalies. We investigated to what extent this information was disseminated among laywomen and healthcare providers. Questionnaire studies were conducted twice, in 2002 and 2007, for four groups of laywomen and seven groups of healthcare providers in Japan regarding awareness, folic acid supplements and healthy diets.

Neural tube defects: prevalence, etiology and prevention.

Spina bifida and anencephaly, the common form of neural tube defects, affect approximately 300 000 newborns each year worldwide. The effectiveness of folic acid supplementation in preventing their occurrence or recurrence has been unambiguous since 1991. In general, the prevalence of these abnormalities has decreased in the past 20 to 30 years because of periconceptional folate supplementation, food fortification in several countries, avoiding exposure to environmental factors, and increased accuracy of prenatal screening for fetal anomalies.

[Periconceptional intake of folate reduces the risk of neural tube defects: awareness among urologists in 2007].

Aims: Folic acid is one of water-soluble Vitamin B group and plays an important role in proliferating cells of the fetus. A multicentered, randomized control trial proved in 1991 that folic acid supplements of 4 mg per day periconceptionally administered to 1031 women who were recruited from 7 countries and had afflicted prior pregnancy successfully prevented 72% of recurrence of neural tube defects. As a primary prevention method, the Government has recommended to take 400 microgram of folate supplements per day from 4 weeks before and 12 weeks after conception.