Brief Report: Are Autistic-Behaviors in Children Related to Prenatal Vitamin Use and Maternal Whole Blood Folate Concentrations?

Abstract

Prenatal multivitamin/folic acid supplement use may reduce the risk of autism spectrum disorders. We investigated whether 2nd trimester prenatal vitamin use and maternal whole blood folate (WBF) concentrations were associated with Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) scores at 4-5 years of age in a prospective cohort of 209 mother-child pairs. After confounder adjustment, children born to women taking prenatal vitamins weekly/daily (n=179) had lower odds of clinically elevated SRS scores (odds ratio:0.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]:0.08, 0.89) than those who rarely/never took them (n=30). WBF concentrations were not associated with SRS scores. The lack of association between WBF and autistic-behaviors may be due to the timing of biomarker measures relative to critical periods of brain development, confounding, or other modifying factors.

Review and meta‐analysis found that prenatal folic acid was associated with a 58% reduction in autism but had no effect on mental and motor development

“… obtained similar results from Iranian children. A reduction in autistic traits was also observed by some authors in children aged 5–6 following the prenatal use of folic acid, even though ASD was not diagnosed. On the other hand, although some major studies have found that folic acid use before and during pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of ASD in children, others have not .…”

“…Diagnoses were reported according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases Criteria . The Social Responsiveness Scale was used to assess autistic traits in one study .…”

“…Some papers were treated as more than one study in the meta‐analyses if they evaluated children at different ages , focused on several cohorts in different locations or grouped subjects by different doses of supplementation . We contacted Valera‐Gran et al.…”

Consequences of dietary methyl donor supplements: Is more always better?

“…mothers of neurotypical children; James et al, 2010). Another recent study found no association between maternal whole blood folate levels and autistic behavior in their children (Braun et al, 2014).…”

Understanding environmental contributions to autism: Causal concepts and the state of science

“…One study of interactions showed folic acid protection against pesticide-related increased risk of ASD. Schmidt et al [2011Schmidt et al [ , 2012Schmidt et al [ , 2017; Suren et al [2013]; Braun et al [2014a]; Steenweg-de Graaff et al [2015]; Virk et al [2016] Maternal iron In a large case-control study, mothers of children with ASD were less likely to report taking an iron supplement; lowest quintile of supplemental iron associated with ASD, especially in older mothers and mothers with metabolic conditions. A large birth cohort found no association with minerals.…”