Effects of folic acid fortification on orofacial clefts prevalence: a meta-analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Orofacial clefts (OFC) are the most prevalent craniofacial birth defect. Folic acid (FA) supplementation has been demonstrated as an effective intervention to reduce risk of OFC occurrence. However, the effect of mandatory FA fortification of wheat and/or maize flour on OFC prevalence has shown controversial results among countries adopting this policy. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to synthesize the available evidence evaluating the global impact of this mandatory policy on OFC occurrence.

Design

Literature search in conventional and grey medical/scientific databases showed fifteen studies considering OFC prevalence in pre- and post-fortification periods with FA. The effect of this policy was evaluated by computing relative risk (RR) and separating samples in

SUBMITTER: Millacura N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10262269 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature