SynthesisBirth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology2013
Knowledge and periconceptional use of folic acid for the prevention of neural tube defects in ethnic communities in the United Kingdom: systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 51 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pregnancy Outcomes Following In Utero Exposure to Lamotrigine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.CNS drugs · 2017Pooled it
- The impact of MTHFR 677 C/T genotypes on folate status markers: a meta-analysis of folic acid intervention studies.European journal of nutrition · 2017Pooled it
- Inositol for the prevention of neural tube defects: a pilot randomised controlled trial.The British journal of nutrition · 2016Trial
- Maternal intake of inadequate dietary folate, and low serum folate levels during pregnancy are associated with increased risk of preterm birth in rural Ethiopia: a prospective cohort study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Folic acid supplementation and neural tube defects: a cross-sectional study of knowledge and practice among pregnant mothers in Lira, Northern Uganda.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Cross-cultural assessment of knowledge and attitudes toward Folic acid: Instrument development and validation in Thailand and Yemen.PloS one · 2026Article
- Vitamin biosynthesis in the gut: interplay between mammalian host and its resident microbiota.Microbiology and molecular biology reviews : MMBR · 2025Review
- Spina Bifida Prevention: A Narrative Review of Folic Acid Supplements for Childbearing Age Women.Cureus · 2024Review
- Article
- Maternal ethnicity and the prevalence of British pregnancies affected by neural tube defects.Birth defects research · 2021Article
- Hyperhomocysteinemia-related serum metabolome alterations not normalized by short-term folic acid treatment.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2021Article
- Periconceptional Folate Supplementation in Women after Bariatric Surgery-A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2021Review
- Dietary Folate Intake and Folic Acid Supplements among Pregnant Women from Southern Italy: Evidence from the "Mamma & Bambino" Cohort.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Correlates of knowledge on birth defects and associated factors among antenatal mothers in Galle, Sri Lanka: a cross-sectional analytical study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2019Article
- A targeted sequencing panel identifies rare damaging variants in multiple genes in the cranial neural tube defect, anencephaly.Clinical genetics · 2018Article
- Association between Duration of Folic Acid Supplementation during Pregnancy and Risk of Postpartum Depression.Nutrients · 2017Article
- A Summary of Pathways or Mechanisms Linking Preconception Maternal Nutrition with Birth Outcomes.The Journal of nutrition · 2016Review
- Disparities in Access to Prenatal Care Services for African Immigrant Women in Spain.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2015Article
- The impact of C677T and A1298C MTHFR polymorphisms on methotrexate therapeutic response in East Bohemian region rheumatoid arthritis patients.Rheumatology international · 2015Article
- Connecting teratogen-induced congenital heart defects to neural crest cells and their effect on cardiac function.Birth defects research. Part C, Embryo today : reviews · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIt is widely accepted that periconceptional supplementation with folic acid can prevent a significant proportion of neural tube defects (NTDs). The present study evaluated how folic acid knowledge and periconceptional use for NTD prevention varies by ethnicity in the United Kingdom (U.K.).
methodsA literature search was conducted to identify studies that included assessment of folic acid knowledge or use in U.K. women of different ethnicities. Only research and referenced sources published after 1991, the year of the landmark Medical Research Council's Vitamin Study, were included. A meta-analysis was performed of studies that assessed preconceptional folic acid use in Caucasians and non-Caucasians.
resultsFive studies met the inclusion criteria for assessment of knowledge and/or use of folic acid supplements in U.K. women including non-Caucasians. The available evidence indicates that South Asians specifically have less knowledge and lower periconceptional use of folic acid than Caucasians; one study found that West Indian and African women also had lower folic acid uptake. A synthesis of results from three of the studies, in a meta-analysis, shows that Caucasians are almost three times more likely to take folic acid before conception than non-Caucasians.
conclusionFrom the limited evidence available, U.K. women of non-Caucasian ethnicity appear to have less knowledge and a lower uptake of folic acid supplementation than Caucasians during the periconceptional period. Implementing targeted, innovative education campaigns together with a mandatory fortification policy, including the fortification of ethnic minority foods, will be required for maximum prevention of folic acid-preventable NTDs across different ethnic groups.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.