Are Vitamin Supplements Used Before or During Pregnancy Associated with Reduced Risk of Autism? A recent study suggests it while pointing out certain interferences.
The use of folic acid supplements and multivitamins by women before and during pregnancy is associated with a lower likelihood of autism spectrum disorder in children, but this finding should be interpreted with caution as other intercurrent factors can explain it. This is what emerges from a study published in JAMA Psychiatry.
Vitamin deficiency during pregnancy is associated in some studies with neuronal development deficits in children. To avoid neural tube defects in children, pregnant women are recommended to take folic acid during pregnancy, but the results of studies on this combination are contradictory.
Risk reduction that remains probable
To disentangle the true from the false, 45,300 Israeli children born between 2003-2007 were examined. Following analyzes, the association between maternal supplement use and the likelihood of autism in children was reported as a statistical measure known as relative risk (a relative risk less than 1 suggests lower risk).
A mother’s intake of folic acid and multivitamins before and during pregnancy appears to be associated with a reduced risk in children compared to children of mothers who do not ingest them.
However, the authors cannot exclude that the reduction in risk is due to other associated causes. Further additional research is therefore essential.
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