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Do multivitamin supplements attenuate the risk for diabetes-associated birth defects?
Adolfo Correa1, Lorenzo Botto, Yecai Liu
1Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA. acorrea@cdc.gov
Pediatrics
|May 3, 2003
Summary
Maternal diabetes increases birth defect risk, but periconceptional multivitamin use may significantly reduce this risk. This finding highlights the protective role of multivitamins for pregnant individuals with diabetes.
Area of Science:
- Reproductive Health
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- Maternal diabetes is a known risk factor for congenital anomalies.
- The periconceptional period is critical for organogenesis and is susceptible to environmental influences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential protective effect of periconceptional multivitamin supplementation on birth defect risk in infants born to mothers with diabetes.
Main Methods:
- A population-based case-control study (Atlanta Birth Defects Case-Control Study, 1968-1980) was conducted.
- Case infants (n=3278) had nonsyndromic birth defects associated with diabetes; controls (n=3029) were healthy infants.
- Maternal diabetes and periconceptional multivitamin use were ascertained through self-report.
Main Results:
- Offspring of mothers with diabetes exhibited an elevated risk for specific birth defects.
- This increased risk was primarily observed in infants whose mothers with diabetes did not use periconceptional multivitamins (OR: 3.93).
- Infants of mothers with diabetes who used periconceptional multivitamins showed no increased risk (OR: 0.15).
Conclusions:
- Periconceptional multivitamin supplementation appears to mitigate the risk of birth defects in infants born to mothers with diabetes.
- These findings underscore the importance of preconception counseling regarding vitamin supplementation for women with diabetes.