Folic acid and iron makes kids smarter.
That's the bold conclusion researchers in the December issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association have made.
Scientists examined whether folic acid (a B-vitamin), iron, and zinc supplementation during gestation affected children's nervous systems and brain functioning later in life.
The first rudiments of the nervous system appear in the third week of gestation; in week four main divisions of the central nervous system are established: forebrain, midbrain, hindbrain and spinal cord. There is more rapid growth of the central nervous system around the 24th week of pregnancy.
Researchers gave women in rural Nepal, India daily iron/folic acid, iron/folic acid/zinc, or multiple micronutrients containing these plus 11 other micronutrients - all with vitamin A. The control group received vitamin A alone. All supplements were distributed from early pregnancy through 3 months postpartum. The study was a double-blind, randomized controlled trial done between 1999 and 2001.
In all, 676 children were then later evaluated at ages 7-9 back in June of 2007 through April 2009. Children's functioning was assessed using the Universal Nonverbal Intelligence Test (UNIT), go/no-go tests, the Stroop test, backward digit span test, the Movement Assessment Battery for Children test (MABC) and finger-tapping test.
The differences were significant. Across the board function test scores were better in the group who received iron/folic acid supplements. Aspects of intellectual functioning including working memory, inhibitory control, and fine motor functioning were all associated with prenatal iron/folic acid supplements.
In the US, the Centers for Disease Control say all women of childbearing age who are capable of becoming pregnant should consume 0.4 mg (400 micrograms) of folic acid per day to reduce the risk of spina bifida or other neural tube defects (NTD) in their children.
Anencephaly is a very severe NTD in which the brain and the skull fail to develop properly. It results in either stillbirth or death shortly after birth, according to Women and Infants Hospital in Providence. In the unscreened population, about 1 baby in every 1,000 is born with a neural tube defect.
Rhode Island Hospital says myelomeningocele, a birth defect in which the backbone and spinal canal do not close before birth, is one type of spina bifida and one of the most common birth defects of the central nervous system. Myelomeningocele accounts for about 75 percent of all cases of spina bifida and may affect as many as 1 out of every 800 infants.
The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees with the US Public Health Service recommending all women capable of becoming pregnant consume 400 micrograms per day of folic acid. They say although some foods are fortified with folic acid, it is not possible for women to meet the goal through a typical diet. The Academy recommends a daily multivitamin tablet that contains folic acid in the recommended dose. Studies show that if all women of childbearing age met these dietary requirements, 50 percent or more of NTDs could be prevented.
Additional Resources:
Spina Bifida Association - RI
BirthDefects.org
Prenatal Screening for Neural Tube Defects - Women and Infants
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