A propensity-matched study of the association between optimal folic acid supplementation and birth defects in Shaanxi province, Northwestern China.

Qu, Pengfei, Li, Shanshan, Liu, Danmeng, Lei, Fangliang, Zeng, Lingxia, Wang, Duolao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2788-2464, Yan, Hong, Shi, Wenhao, Shi, Juanzi and Dang, Shaonong (2019) 'A propensity-matched study of the association between optimal folic acid supplementation and birth defects in Shaanxi province, Northwestern China.'. Scientific Reports, Vol 9, Issue 1, p. 5271.

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Abstract

The association between folic acid supplementation and birth defects other than neural tube defects remains unclear. We utilized data from a large population-based survey to examine the association between folic acid supplementation and birth defects in Northwestern China. A total of 29,204 women with infants born between 2010 and 2013 were surveyed in Shaanxi province, Northwestern China, using a stratified multistage sampling method. Propensity scores were used to match 9,293 women with optimal folic acid supplementation with 9,293 women with nonoptimal folic acid supplementation, and the effects of optimal folic acid supplementation on birth defects were assessed by a conditional logistic regression model. After propensity score matching, the overall birth defect rate, cardiovascular system defect rate and nervous system defect rate for the women with optimal folic acid supplementation were lower than those for the women with nonoptimal folic acid supplementation (overall birth defects: OR = 0.71, 95% CI = 0.57-0.89, P = 0.003; cardiovascular system defects: OR = 0.65, 95% CI = 0.44-0.96, P = 0.032; nervous system defects: OR = 0.13, 95% CI = 0.02-0.99, P = 0.049). Optimal folic acid supplementation was associated with a decreased prevalence of birth defects, especially in the cardiovascular system and nervous system. Our findings have important implications for birth defect intervention with folic acid supplementation for countries with a high prevalence of birth defects, such as China.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	WQ Obstetrics > WQ 100 General works WQ Obstetrics > Pregnancy Complications > WQ 240 Pregnancy complications (General) WS Pediatrics > By Age Groups > WS 421 Diseases of newborn infants
Faculty: Department:	Clinical Sciences & International Health > Clinical Sciences Department
Digital Object Identifer (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41584-5
Depositing User:	Stacy Murtagh
Date Deposited:	04 Apr 2019 14:02
Last Modified:	06 Sep 2019 15:27
URI:	https://archive.lstmed.ac.uk/id/eprint/10558

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