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Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
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Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

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Peri-Conceptional Folic Acid Supplementation and Children's Physical Development: A Birth Cohort Study

Shanshan Zhang1,2,3,4, Mengting Yang1,2,3,4, Xuemei Hao1,2,3,4

  • 1Department of Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health, School of Public Health, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230032, China.

Nutrients
|March 29, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Maternal folic acid supplementation before and during early pregnancy is linked to healthier child development. Lack of folic acid is associated with higher BMI and body fat trajectories in preschool children.

Area of Science:

  • Maternal and child health
  • Nutritional epidemiology
  • Developmental pediatrics

Background:

  • Maternal folic acid supplementation is crucial during pregnancy, potentially impacting offspring development.
  • Limited data exists on the long-term effects of prenatal folic acid on children's physical development.
  • This study investigates the association between maternal folic acid intake and physical development in preschool children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the association between maternal folic acid supplementation status during pregnancy and the physical development of preschool children.
  • To identify potential risks related to inadequate folic acid intake during early pregnancy.
  • To provide insights into the importance of prenatal nutrition for long-term child health outcomes.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from 3064 mother-child pairs in the Ma'anshan-Anhui Birth Cohort (MABC) study.
  • Assessed maternal folic acid supplementation status before and during pregnancy as the primary exposure.
  • Employed group-based trajectory models and multiple logistic regression to analyze children's anthropometric measurements and growth trajectories (BMI-Z scores, body fat ratio).

Main Results:

  • Maternal non-supplementation with folic acid before and in the first trimester was significantly associated with higher BMI-Z score trajectories (OR=1.423, OR=1.654) in children aged 0-6 years.
  • Absence of folic acid supplementation was also linked to a high body fat ratio trajectory (OR=1.833) in children aged 4-6 years.
  • No significant benefits for physical development were observed with folic acid supplementation beyond the first trimester.

Conclusions:

  • Maternal folic acid non-supplementation during early pregnancy is associated with adverse physical development trajectories in preschool children.
  • Specifically, it is linked to higher Body Mass Index (BMI)-Z scores and increased body fat ratio.
  • These findings underscore the critical importance of adequate folic acid intake during the preconception period and the first trimester of pregnancy for optimal child physical development.
Abstract

Keywords:
adiposity reboundbirth cohortfolic acidtrajectory

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