Maternal folic acid supplement use/dietary folate intake from preconception to early pregnancy and neurodevelopment in 2-year-old offspring: the Japan Environment and Children's Study

The Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We evaluated the association between maternal prenatal folic acid supplementation/dietary folate intake and motor and cognitive development in 2-year-old offspring using data from the Japan Environment and Children's Study database. Neurodevelopment of 2-year-old offspring were evaluated using the Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development 2001. In total, data of 3839 offspring were analysed. For folic acid supplementation, a multiple regression analysis showed that offspring of mothers who started using folic acid supplements before conception had a significantly lower developmental quotient (DQ) in the postural-motor DQ area than offspring of mothers who did not use them at any time throughout their pregnancy (partial regression coefficient (B) -2·596, 95 % CI -4·738, -0·455). Regarding daily dietary folate intake from preconception to early pregnancy, a multiple regression analysis showed that the group with ≥ 200 μg had a significantly higher DQ in the language-social area than the group with <200 μg. The DQ was higher in the ≥ 400 μg group (B 2·532, 95 % CI 0·201, 4·863) than the 200 to <400 μg group (B 1·437, 95 % CI 0·215, 2·660). In conclusion, our study showed that maternal adequate dietary folate intake from preconception to early pregnancy has a beneficial association with verbal cognition development in 2-year-old offspring. On the other hand, mothers who started using folic acid supplements before conception had an inverse association with motor development in 2-year-old offspring. There were no details on the amount of folic acid in the supplements used and frequency of use. Therefore, further studies are required.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2480-2489
Number of pages10
JournalBritish Journal of Nutrition
Volume128
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022 Dec 28
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cognitive development
  • Developmental quotient
  • Folate
  • Folic acid
  • Neurodevelopment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine (miscellaneous)
  • Nutrition and Dietetics

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