Sulistyoningrum D, Green T, Palmer D, Sullivan T, Wood S, Makrides M, Skubisz M, Best KP. Fallin and her colleagues could not say from their data why certain women had excessive levels of folate or B12 in their systems around the time of delivery, although many said they took vitamin supplements during their pregnancy. "What we've always believed to be true remains true, that supplements decrease the risk of autism," Wang said. Similarly, very high B12 (≥536.8 pmol/L) showed 2.5 times increased risk (95% CI 1.4, 4.5). However, expecting mothers shouldn't toss away their supplements, the researchers stressed. Investigators at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, found that when maternal plasma folate levels and vitamin B12 levels are >59 nmol/L and >600 pmol/L, respectively, autism risk is … HealthDay News — A new study suggests that excessive amounts of folate and vitamin B12 in a mother’s body might increase an infant’s risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder. However, a subgroup of the children did see small but significant improvements. Extremely high maternal plasma folate and B12 levels at birth were associated with ASD risk. The study included a check of the mothers' blood folate levels within three days of delivery. The mothers were recruited at the time of their children's birth between 1998 and 2013, and followed for several years. Source. An increased intake of folate and Vitamin B12 supplements during pregnancy is likely to raise the risk of autism spectrum disorder in children, new research led by an Indian-origin scientist suggests. His case had been reviewed at prestigious medical institutions … Folic acid has long been known to prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, called neural tube defects. Folate is found naturally in fruits and vegetables, while the synthetic version, folic acid, is used to fortify cereals and breads in the United States, and in vitamin supplements. The risk was greatest among mothers who had excess levels of … © 2005 - 2019 WebMD LLC. Krikke GG, Grooten IJ, Vrijkotte TG, van Eijsden M, Roseboom TJ, Painter RC. There was a 'U shaped' relationship between maternal multivitamin supplementation frequency and ASD risk. This piqued the psychiatrist’s curiosity even more. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040416. Zhu J, Guo M, Yang T, Lai X, Tang T, Chen J, Li L, Li T. Front Pediatr. Association of Maternal Use of Folic Acid and Multivitamin Supplements in the Periods Before and During Pregnancy With the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Offspring. On la trouve uniquement dans les produits animaux, c’est pourquoi les végétaliens doivent se supplémenter en vitamine B12. Folate — a B vitamin found naturally in fruits and vegetables — is essential in cell growth and promotes neurodevelopmental growth in the foetus. Levine SZ, Kodesh A, Viktorin A, Smith L, Uher R, Reichenberg A, Sandin S. JAMA Psychiatry. Now she and colleagues at Oslo University Hospital have conducted a study where they examined blood tests for Norwegian patients on the autism spectrum. Maternal multivitamin supplementation was assessed via questionnaire interview; maternal plasma folate and B12 were measured from samples taken 2-3 days after birth. Excess maternal vitamin B12 (>600 pmol/L) in pregnancy was also shown to be associated with greater ASD risk in offspring. The autism question has generated considerable confusion, but there is very little evidence that taking folic acid during pregnancy increases the risk. Re: Folate status and autism spectrum disorders. Conflict of interest: None of the authors have a conflict of interest pertaining to this work, Figure 1. The study showed no improvements in autism behaviors or blood chemistry. So it i… But a new study suggests that excessive amounts of folate (vitamin B9) and vitamin B12 in a mother's body might increase a baby's risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder. Vitamin B12 engage in proper functioning of the nervous system and blood cells; Autism Risk Is Linked to High Folate Levels in Pregnancy. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. Folate and vitamin B12 supplementation during pregnancy reduces the risk of having a child diagnosed with autism, but excessive levels of these nutrients dramatically increase risk. Altered metabolism of mothers of young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a case control study. The researchers found that one in 10 of the women had what is considered an excess amount of folate, while 6 percent had an excess amount of vitamin B12. Methods: Folic acid with or without vitamin B12 for the prevention and treatment of healthy elderly and demented people. In 2010, researchers with the University of California MIND Institute published the results of an Autism Speaks-funded study on the benefits of B-12 treatment on the behavior and blood chemistry of 30 children with autism. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol. "We need to look at all of the data they have.". Get the latest public health information from CDC: https://www.coronavirus.gov, Get the latest research information from NIH: https://www.nih.gov/coronavirus, Find NCBI SARS-CoV-2 literature, sequence, and clinical content: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sars-cov-2/. "The new research question before us is to understand the optimal dose," said co-researcher Daniele Fallin. Study: Too Much Folate, B12 In Pregnant Women Can Multiply Autism Risk By 17.6 May 11, 2016 at 3:11 pm Filed Under: Autism , folate , Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health She is a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore. B12, another common prenatal supplement, was also linked to an increased risk of autism. Une action en synergie But researchers stress that women should not throw away their supplements. | This report included 1257 mother-child pairs, who were recruited at birth and prospectively followed through childhood at the Boston Medical Center. 14 Dec 2016 Pregnancy & Postpartum. Association between maternal folate and…, Figure 2. COVID-19 is an emerging, rapidly evolving situation. BALTIMORE ― Excessive levels of plasma folate and vitamin B12 during pregnancy have been linked to a dramatic increase in autism risk in offspring, new research shows. 2008 Oct 8;(4):CD004514. Using this as the reference group, low (≤2 times/week) and high (>5 times/week) supplementation was associated with increased risk of ASD. Raghavan R, Selhub J, Paul L, Ji Y, Wang G, Hong X, Zuckerman B, Fallin MD, Wang X. Results: Updated: May 17, 2016, 06:00 PM IST. La vitamine B12, elle, est essentielle pour la synthèse des globules rouges et joue un rôle majeur dans le système nerveux. The risk was greatest among mothers who had excess levels of both folate and B12 -- their risk was over 17 times that of a mother with normal levels of both nutrients, the investigators reported. Our findings warrant additional investigation and highlight the need to identify optimum prenatal folate and vitamin B12 levels that maximize health benefits, at the same time minimize the … In the study, mothers who had very high blood levels of folate at delivery were twice as likely to have a child with autism compared to mothers with normal folate levels. Researchers also found that mothers with excessive B12 levels were three times as likely to have a child with autism. Keywords: Epub 2015 Aug 25. A prospective birth cohort study on cord blood folate subtypes and risk of autism spectrum disorder. On the worrisome side, the researchers reported hyperactivity and pica (a tendency to eat nonfood items) as side effects. BJOG. USA.gov. eCollection 2021. However, the study only found an association and could not prove that high levels caused an increased risk of autism. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. 2003;(4):CD004514. 2020 Nov 11;112(5):1304-1317. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqaa208. Would you like email updates of new search results? WEDNESDAY, May 11, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnant women are encouraged to get plenty of folic acid in their diet or through vitamin supplements, to protect their babies against birth defects of the brain and spinal cord. The researchers took blood tests of close to 1,400 mothers between one to three days after they gave birth and found that about 10% of the mothers had … | Please enable it to take advantage of the complete set of features! All rights reserved. Maternal self-reported multivitamin supplement intake…, Figure 1. Folic acid with or without vitamin B12 for cognition and dementia. For many types … National Center for Biotechnology Information, Unable to load your collection due to an error, Unable to load your delegates due to an error, Adjusted association between maternal multivitamin supplement intake during 1, Unadjusted association between maternal plasma folate (panel A) and plasma vitamin B. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004514. eCollection 2020. 2018 Jan;32(1):112-113. doi: 10.1111/ppe.12428. PTI. 2018 Feb 1;75(2):176-184. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.4050. Am J Clin Nutr. Mothers-to-be, take note! Epilepsy Behav Rep. 2020 Dec 17;15:100419. doi: 10.1016/j.ebr.2020.100419. Nutritional Status and Symptoms in Preschool Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Two-Center Comparative Study in Chongqing and Hainan Province, China. Investigators at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, found that when maternal plasma folate levels and vitamin B12 levels are >59 nmol/L and >600 pmol/L, respectively, autism risk is increased more than 17-fold. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004514.pub2. 2016 Feb;123(3):384-92. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.13574. Folic acid has long been known to prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, called neural tube defects. Un déficit en vitamine B12 est associé à de multiples pathologies mentales comme la schizophrénie ou l’autisme. Epub 2018 Jan 19. An increased intake of folate and Vitamin B12 supplements during pregnancy is likely to raise the risk of autism spectrum disorder in children, new research led by an Indian-origin scientist suggests. Hollowood-Jones K, Adams JB, Coleman DM, Ramamoorthy S, Melnyk S, James SJ, Woodruff BK, Pollard EL, Snozek CL, Kruger U, Chuah J, Hahn J. BMC Pediatr. "We need to see the full study," Wang said. To examine the prospective association between multivitamin supplementation during pregnancy and biomarker measures of maternal plasma folate and vitamin B12 levels at birth and child's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) risk. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Deficient or Excess Folic Acid Supply During Pregnancy Alter Cortical Neurodevelopment in Mouse Offspring. 2020 Dec 14;20(1):557. doi: 10.1186/s12887-020-02437-7. Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial evaluating the effect of folic acid supplementation beyond the first trimester on maternal plasma unmetabolised folic acid in late gestation. The subsequent headlines were similar: “Autism Linked to Overdose of Folate and Vitamin B12 During Pregnancy” (The Telegraph), “Study: Too Much Folate, B12 In Pregnant … R21 HD066471/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States, T32 GM007309/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States, U01 AI090727/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States, R01 HD041702/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States, R21 AI079872/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States, R21 ES011666/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States, R01 HD086013/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States, R01 HD049059/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States. The risk of ASD was highest if mothers had both excess prenatal folate and vitamin B12 levels. Carefully controlled study provides evidence that methyl B12 can ease autism in a subgroup of children with the disorder. Share. Top Treatment Tips, Ovulation Tool: Find Your Most Fertile Days. Conclusion: Harlan De Crescenzo A, Panoutsopoulos AA, Tat L, Schaaf Z, Racherla S, Henderson L, Leung KY, Greene NDE, Green R, Zarbalis KS. The study also found that women who took folate and B12 supplements three to five times a week were less likely overall to have a child with autism, particularly when they're taken during the first and second trimesters, Fallin said. Autism; folate; prenatal supplement intake; vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 and folate status in early pregnancy and cardiometabolic risk factors in the offspring at age 5-6 years: findings from the ABCD multi-ethnic birth cohort. | Folic Acid is the synthetic form of B9 vitamin and it is supposedly good for pregnant women and the fetus brain development. 2018 May;32(3):308. doi: 10.1111/ppe.12449. March 23, 2016 . BMJ Open. Epub 2017 Nov 22. HHS A new study found that excessive amounts of folic acid and vitamin B12 during pregnancy may elevate the risk for autism. ASD was defined from diagnostic codes in electronic medical records. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. Further, very high levels of another vitamin, B12, are also potentially harmful, tripling the risk that a new mom’s offspring will develop an autism spectrum disorder. The March of Dimes, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical associations recommend that pregnant women consume folic acid to prevent neural tube defects, which happen in about 3,000 pregnancies each year in the United States. The study findings are scheduled for presentation Friday at the International Meeting for Autism Research in Baltimore. "The bottom line still is that taking the recommended vitamins is overall decreasing your child's risk.". Of course, these episodes had always been treated with antibiotics as infections but there was no valid explanation of why they were repeated. Very high levels of maternal plasma folate at birth (≥60.3 nmol/L) had 2.5 times increased risk of ASD [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3, 4.6] compared to folate levels in the middle 80th percentile, after adjusting for covariates including MTHFR genotype. The study found that women with excessive levels of folate (B9) and B12 in their systems had a 17 times greater risk of autism. This site needs JavaScript to work properly. Results: Moderate (3-5 times/week) self-reported supplementation during pregnancy was associated with decreased risk of ASD, consistent with previous findings. HealthyWomen Editors. 2021 Jan 1;31(1):635-649. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa248. NIH Some studies also suggest it can prevent heart defects and cleft palate. "We saw those women who had extremely high, much higher than the recommended amount, of folate or vitamin B12 were more likely to have children who later had a diagnosis of autism," Fallin said. Too much folate and B12 linked to increased autism risk It is nothing new to us that folic acid and vitamin B12 are essential nutrients during pregnancy. See this image and copyright information in PMC. Research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has shown that excessive amounts of B12 during pregnancy can increase the risk of autism. Many years ago I was confronted by the case of a six-year-old child who had been suffering from an extraordinarily common problem for approximately two years. "We would not want anyone to interpret from this that they should stop taking vitamin supplements if they are intending to get pregnant or if they are pregnant.". A new study found that excessive amounts of folic acid and vitamin B12 during pregnancy may elevate the risk for autism. Pregnancy outcomes in women with epilepsy and MTHFR mutations supplemented with methylated folate and methylcobalamin (methylated B12). Background: In a small but carefully controlled study, regular injections of methyl B12 produced an overall improvement in autism symptoms in some children who have the disorder. Maternal multivitamin supplementation was assessed via questionnaire interview; maternal plasma folate and B 12 were measured from samples taken 2-3 days after birth. Physicians and other health care providers may mistakenly believe that prenatal vitamins significantly reduce the risk of B 12 deficiency in pregnancy, but they do not contain enough vitamin B 12 to correct an existing deficiency. To investigate this effect, Fallin and her colleagues analyzed data from almost 1,400 mother-child pairs in the Boston Birth Cohort, a predominantly low-income minority population. SOURCES: Daniele Fallin, Ph.D., professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore; Paul Wang, M.D., senior vice president, medical research, Autism Speaks; May 13, 2016, presentation, International Meeting for Autism Research, Baltimore, By clicking Subscribe, I agree to the WebMD, Smart Grocery Shopping When You Have Diabetes, Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Dogs and Cats, Coronavirus in Context: Interviews With Experts, Sign Up to Receive Our Free Coroanvirus Newsletter, Pregnant With Allergies? A study published in February 2018 reviewed its effects on the known risk of autism in children who were exposed to drugs for epilepsy before birth. Considerations for Studying Folate Beyond the Typical Range of Exposure. Moderate (3-5 times/week) self-reported supplementation during pregnancy was associated with decreased risk of ASD, consistent with previous findings. Dr. Paul Wang, senior vice president of medical research for Autism Speaks, agreed that "it's just too early to say" what this study means, particularly because it hasn't yet appeared in a peer-reviewed medical journal. 2020 Nov 16;10(11):e040416. A study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health followed more than 1,300 mothers for several years, checking their folate levels immediately after delivery and then monitoring the health of their children. Association between maternal folate and vitamin B 12 concentrations and risk of ASD…, NLM Wang noted that the study does show a protective benefit against autism for folic acid and vitamin B12 in women taking supplements three to five times a week. Researchers also found that mothers with excessive B12 levels were three times as likely to have a child with autism. Cereb Cortex. "Some [folate] is a good thing. Clipboard, Search History, and several other advanced features are temporarily unavailable. A few years ago, an American study showed that pregnant women with high levels of B12 were more likely to have children with autism. Very high vitamin B12 levels in new moms are also potentially harmful, tripling the risk that her offspring will develop an autism spectrum disorder. He would develop a sore throat, fever and swollen glands in the neck. 2020 Sep 3;8:469. doi: 10.3389/fped.2020.00469. Maternal self-reported multivitamin supplement intake and ASD risk in offspring in the Boston…, Figure 2. It does appear the levels in the body could get too high, and that would be a bad thing," she said. If both levels are extremely high, the risk that a child develops the disorder increases 17.6 times. Spina bifida is the most common of this type of birth defect. Women should talk with their obstetrician about their diet and supplements, and how those might be affecting their blood levels of folate and B12, Fallin said. Some studies also suggest it … It could be that some women are genetically predisposed to high levels of folate and B12 in their bodies, or they might be getting too much of the nutrient through diet or supplements, she said. "Supplementation is indeed an important thing," Fallin added. While the majority of women reported having taken multivitamins throughout pregnancy, the blood levels of folate and vitamin B12 varied from very high levels to … This hypothesis-generating study does not question the importance of consuming adequate folic acid and vitamin B12 during pregnancy; rather, raises new questions about the impact of extremely elevated levels of plasma folate and B12 exposure in-utero on early brain development. The blockbuster statistic that sent tongues wagging was this: Women who got too much folate and vitamin B12 during pregnancy were 17.6 times more likely to … Excessive amount of B12 and folate may increase the risk of autism in infant. 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