Neighborhood Deprivation and Neural Tube Defects

Pruitt Evans, Shannon; Ailes, Elizabeth C.; Kramer, Michael R.; Shumate, Charles J.; Reefhuis, Jennita; Insaf, Tabassum Z.; Yazdy, Mahsa M.; Carmichael, Suzan L.; Romitti, Paul A.; Feldkamp, Marcia L.; Neo, Dayna T.; Nembhard, Wendy N.; Shaw, Gary M.; Palmi, Elizabeth; Gilboa, Suzanne M.; ,

doi:10.1097/ede.0000000000001655

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 42 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…These include nutrients such as vitamins B6 and B12, thiamine, riboflavin, zinc, choline, betaine, and methionine [100]. There are still large segments of the United States population with subpar intake of folic acid [101], including persons living with food insecurity [102,103], and research shows that neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation predicts neural tube defects [104].…”

Section: Violent Suicide and Homicide-complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Homicide or Happiness: Did Folate Fortification and Public Health Campaigns Influence Homicide Rates and the Great American Crime Decline?

Schoenthaler,

Prescott,

Logan

2024

Nutrients

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The last several years have witnessed a remarkable growth in research directed at nutrition and behavior, with increased interest in the field of nutritional criminology. It is becoming clear that dietary patterns and specific nutrients play an important role in cognition and behavior, including those related to aggression, violence, and antisocial activity. Included in this expanding knowledge base is the recognition that folate, through multiple pathways, including enzymatic reactions and gut microbiome ecology, plays a critical role in central nervous system functioning. These mechanistic advances allow for a retrospective analysis of a topic that remains unexplained—the sudden and unpredicted drop in homicide and other violent crime rates in the United States and other nations in the 1990s. Here, we revisit this marked reduction in homicide rates through the lens of the coincident public health campaign (and subsequent mandatory fortification) to increase folic acid intake. Based on objectively measured blood folate levels through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, there is little doubt that tissue folate witnessed a dramatic rise at the national level from 1988 through 2000. Drawing from accumulated and emerging research on the neurobehavioral aspects of folate, it is our contention that this relatively sudden and massive increase in tissue folate levels may have contributed to reductions in violent crime in the United States.

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Section: Violent Suicide and Homicide-complexitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Homicide or Happiness: Did Folate Fortification and Public Health Campaigns Influence Homicide Rates and the Great American Crime Decline?

Schoenthaler,

Prescott,

Logan

2024

Nutrients

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Neighborhood deprivation is not associated with abortion consideration or completion in patients with fetal myelomeningocele

Papastefan,

Bian,

Singh

et al. 2024

Prenatal Diagnosis

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ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate whether patient‐level neighborhood deprivation index (NDI) was associated with termination of pregnancy consideration and completion in patients presenting with fetal myelomeningocele.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort analysis of patients with fetal myelomeningocele presenting to a fetal treatment center (FTC) in Illinois between 2018 and 2024. The exposure was NDI calculated from patient zip codes. The NDI was analyzed as both a dichotomous and ordinal exposure. The co‐primary outcomes were abortion consideration prior to FTC consultation, ascertained by nurse intake, and abortion completion after consultation. Bivariate and log‐binomial regression analyses were performed. Covariates were selected based on p < 0.10 on bivariate analyses. Otherwise, p < 0.05 indicated statistical significance.ResultsA total of 157 participants were included. Evaluation of neighborhood deprivation as a dichotomous exposure revealed no association with abortion consideration or completion. AdditionallLy, no association was found on log binomial modeling after controlling for gestational age at presentation to the FTC and maternal race or ethnicity for abortion consideration (aRR 0.87, 95% CI 0.59–1.28) or completion (aRR 0.86, 95% CI 0.59–1.28). These results were similar when treating the NDI as an ordinal exposure.ConclusionsContrary to our hypothesis, NDI is not associated with abortion consideration or completion in patients with fetal myelomeningocele.

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Bibliometric Analysis and a Call for Increased Rigor in Citing Scientific Literature: Folic Acid Fortification and Neural Tube Defect Risk as an Example

Boeck,

Westmark

2024

Nutrients

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The health benefits of vitamin B9 (folate) are well documented, particularly in regard to neural tube defects during pregnancy; however, much remains to be learned regarding the health effects and risks of consuming folic acid supplements and foods fortified with folic acid. In 2020, our laboratory conducted a population-based analysis of the Food Fortification Initiative (FFI) dataset to determine the strength of the evidence regarding the prevalence of neural tube defects (NTD) at the national level in response to mandatory fortification of cereal grains with folic acid. We found a very weak correlation between the prevalence of NTDs and the level of folic acid fortification irrespective of the cereal grain fortified (wheat, maize, or rice). We found a strong linear relationship between reduced NTDs and higher socioeconomic status (SES). Our paper incited a debate on the proper statistics to employ for population-level data. Subsequently, there has been a large number of erroneous citations to our original work. The objective here was to conduct a bibliometric analysis to quantitate the accuracy of citations to Murphy and Westmark’s publication entitled, “Folic Acid Fortification and Neural Tube Defect Risk: Analysis of the Food Fortification Initiative Dataset”. We found a 70% inaccuracy rate. These findings highlight the dire need for increased rigor in citing scientific literature, particularly in regard to biomedical research that directly impacts public health policy.

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Neighborhood Deprivation and Neural Tube Defects

Cited by 3 publications

References 42 publications

Homicide or Happiness: Did Folate Fortification and Public Health Campaigns Influence Homicide Rates and the Great American Crime Decline?

Homicide or Happiness: Did Folate Fortification and Public Health Campaigns Influence Homicide Rates and the Great American Crime Decline?

Neighborhood deprivation is not associated with abortion consideration or completion in patients with fetal myelomeningocele

Bibliometric Analysis and a Call for Increased Rigor in Citing Scientific Literature: Folic Acid Fortification and Neural Tube Defect Risk as an Example

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