Folic acid supplementation in European women of reproductive age and during pregnancy with excessive weight: a systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Neural tube defects (NTDs), well-known consequences of folate deficiency, are the second most common cause of serious birth defects, affecting approximately one in a thousand pregnancies in Europe. Maternal folate deficiency before conception and during early pregnancy has been suggested as the most important preventable risk factor for NTDs; thus women should be supplemented before conception with 0.4 mg of folic acid (FA) until the first trimester of gestation. Findings have described a positive association between elevated Body Mass Index (BMI) and birth defect risk; data on plasma folate levels in pregnant women with obesity have shown values lower than recommended because of a state of chronic low-grade inflammation, resulting in increased metabolic demands. Nowadays

SUBMITTER: Loperfido F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11786555 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature