Weekly administration of folic acid and epidemiology of neural tube defects

In 1999, a folic acid campaign for prevention of neural tube defects was started in Nuevo León, México, with the recommendation of taking a 5000 -mcg tablet of folic acid per week. The purpose of this study was to compare the epidemiology of neural tube defects after four years of the campaign. Case...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Maternal and child health journal 2006-09, Vol.10 (5), p.397-401
Main Authors: Martínez de Villarreal, Laura E, Arredondo, Patricia, Hernández, Ricardo, Villarreal, Jesús Z
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anencephaly - epidemiology
Anencephaly - prevention & control
Encephalocele - epidemiology
Encephalocele - prevention & control
Epidemiology
Female
Folic acid
Folic Acid - administration & dosage
Health Promotion
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Male
Maternal Welfare
Mexico - epidemiology
Neural Tube Defects - epidemiology
Neural Tube Defects - prevention & control
Public Health
Sex ratio
Spina bifida
Spinal Dysraphism - epidemiology
Spinal Dysraphism - prevention & control
Vitamin B Complex - administration & dosage
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Summary:In 1999, a folic acid campaign for prevention of neural tube defects was started in Nuevo León, México, with the recommendation of taking a 5000 -mcg tablet of folic acid per week. The purpose of this study was to compare the epidemiology of neural tube defects after four years of the campaign. Cases of anencephaly, spina bifida, and encephalocele (ICD Q00, Q01, Q05, 10th Ed.) from public and private hospitals were registered by immediate notification, death certificates, and fetal death registries. Comparisons of neural tube defects rates, phenotype distribution of cases, and sex ratios, registered before and after the folic acid campaign, were done using the Student's t Test and Chi square test. There was a 50% reduction in the incidence of anencephaly and spina bifida cases from 93 in 1999 (1.04x1000) to 46 in the year 2003 (0.56x1000) (p
ISSN:1092-7875
1573-6628
DOI:10.1007/s10995-006-0082-2