Developing the Right Public Health Strategies for Folic Acid and Reduction of Risk of Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) in the United Kingdom
European Journal of Nutrition & Food Safety · pp. 242–249 · Published 13 Jun 2015
10.9734/EJNFS/2015/18093Abstract
The UK urgently needs a public health strategy for NTD reduction, which could include the use of food supplements, food fortification or a combination of both. An updated nutritional benefit-risk analysis is needed to inform population-based and/or targeted public health policies for folic acid intake and reduction of risk of neural tube defects. Policymakers should be cautious about the long-term exposure of the population as a whole to additional folic acid, especially potential adverse effects on the nervous system and brain function in older people, and higher levels of intake during infancy and childhood. The European-wide authorised health claim for folic acid food supplements and reduced risk of NTDs could transform the communication of the health benefits for women of childbearing age. Vitamin B12 deficiency may be an independent risk factor for NTDs, in which case dietary interventions with folic acid combined with vitamin B12 need to be considered.
References (30)
- 1 Prevention of the First Occurrence of Neural-Tube Defects by Periconceptional Vitamin Supplementation [DOI]
- 2 Prevention of neural tube defects: Results of the Medical Research Council vitamin study [DOI]
- 3 Prevention of neural tube defects: results of the Medical Research Council Vitamin Study. MRC Vitamin Study Research Group.
- 4 Prevention of Neural-Tube Defects with Folic Acid in China [DOI]
- 5 Vitamin B12, folic acid, and the nervous system [DOI]
- 6 Effects and safety of periconceptional oral folate supplementation for preventing birth defects [DOI]
- 7 Neural tube defects: recent advances, unsolved questions, and controversies [DOI]
- 8 Is folic acid good for everyone? [DOI]
- 9 Vitamin dificiencies and neural tube defects. [DOI]
- 10 Maternal plasma folate and vitamin B12 are independent risk factors for neural tube defects [DOI]
- 11 Maternal Vitamin B12 Status and Risk of Neural Tube Defects in a Population With High Neural Tube Defect Prevalence and No Folic Acid Fortification [DOI]
- 12 Epidemiology of neural tube defects [DOI]
- 13 The neurology of folic acid deficiency [DOI]
- 14 A randomized trial on folic acid supplementation and risk of recurrent colorectal adenoma [DOI]
- 15 Folic acid fortification: a double-edged sword [DOI]
- 16 Periconceptional Folate Deficiency and Implications in Neural Tube Defects [DOI]
- 17 Impact of voluntary fortification and supplement use on dietary intakes and biomarker status of folate and vitamin B-12 in Irish adults [DOI]
- 18 Integrated risk–benefit analyses: Method development with folic acid as example [DOI]
- 19 High rate of maternal vitamin B12 deficiency nearly a decade after Canadian folic acid flour fortification [DOI]
- 20 Fortification: new findings and implications [DOI]
- 21 Examination of selected national policies towards mandatory folic acid fortification [DOI]
- 22 Folic Acid Prevents the Initial Occurrence of Sporadic Colorectal Adenoma in Chinese Older than 50 Years of Age: A Randomized Clinical Trial [DOI]
- 23 Addressing the risk of inadequate and excessive micronutrient intakes: traditional versus new approaches to setting adequate and safe micronutrient levels in foods [DOI]
- 24 CAUSATION OF NEURAL TUBE DEFECTS: CLUES FROM EPIDEMIOLOGY [DOI]
- 25 Application of the BRAFO tiered approach for benefit–risk assessment to case studies on dietary interventions [DOI]
- 26 National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme (NDNS RP). Supplementary report: blood folate results for the UK as a whole, Scotland, Northern Ireland (years 1 to 4 combined) and Wales (years 2 to 5 combined).
- 27 Prepared by the EFSA Scientific Cooperation Working Group on Analysis of Risks and Benefits of Fortification of Food with Folic Acid 1
- 28 Symposium Report: Effective and Safe Micronutrient Interventions, Weighing the Risks against the Benefits [DOI]
- 29 Should Folate Supplements be Integrated with Workplace Nutrition Programs? [DOI]
- 30 The Role of Folic Acid in the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects [DOI]
Cited by 8
Annemarie DeLeo, Sadie Geraghty · British Journal of Midwifery · 2016
David P. Richardson, Juliet Ansell, Lynley N. Drummond · European Journal of Nutrition · 2018
Michele J. Sadler · Foods, Nutrients and Food Ingredients with Authorised EU Health Claims · 2018
Showing 3 of 8 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.
Related research
- Medical Tourism, Public Health and Economic Development in Nigeria: Issues and Prospects — shares topic coverage
- The Cuban Healthcare System: An Insight — shares topic coverage
- The Effect of Educational Intervention on Rational Prescribing in Public Health Facilities in Selected Local Government Areas of Rivers State: An Interventional Study — shares topic coverage
- Role of Community Pharmacist in Public Health Services, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — shares topic coverage
- Prevalence of Geohelminths among Primary School Children in Edoh Community, Esit Eket Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria — shares topic coverage
Article metrics
Real usage data collected on this platform.
49
Page views
0
PDF downloads
29
Outbound clicks
8
Citations
Views over time
Views by country
Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".
Traffic sources
Referring site, by host.
Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.