SynthesisPublic health nutrition2017
Effects of folic acid fortification on orofacial clefts prevalence: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Public health nutrition, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 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
25 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Periconceptional use of vitamin A and the risk of giving birth to a child with nonsyndromic orofacial clefts-A meta-analysis.Birth defects research · 2022Pooled it
- Association Between Folate and Health Outcomes: An Umbrella Review of Meta-Analyses.Frontiers in public health · 2020Pooled it
- Food Security Impacts Health of Children With Orofacial Clefts: An 8-Year Review of the Global Burden of Disease Study.The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association · 2026Article
- Trends and Prevalence of Modifiable Risk Factors for Birth Defects Among U.S. Women of Reproductive Age: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007 to March 2020.American journal of preventive medicine · 2025Article
- Epidemiological insights into neural tube and orofacial malformations in Chile using data from the National Registry of Congenital Anomalies (RENACH).BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Association between erythrocyte folate and pregnancy: A scientometric analysis.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2025Review
- Knowledge, awareness, and use of folic acid among women of childbearing age living in a peri-urban community in Ghana: a cross-sectional survey.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Article
- Periconceptional maternal folate supplementation impacts a diverse range of congenital malformations.Pediatric research · 2024Article
- Disruption of DNA methylation-mediated cranial neural crest proliferation and differentiation causes orofacial clefts in mice.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Global, regional and national burden of orofacial clefts from 1990 to 2019: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.Annals of medicine · 2023Article
- The effect of short-term preoperative nutritional intervention for cleft surgery eligibility.BMC nutrition · 2023Article
- Gene-environment interactions in birth defect etiology: Challenges and opportunities.Current topics in developmental biology · 2023Review
- Folic Acid and the Prevention of Birth Defects: 30 Years of Opportunity and Controversies.Annual review of nutrition · 2022Review
- The Evaluation ofChildren (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Association of maternal folate use and reduced folate carrier gene polymorphisms with the risk of congenital heart disease in offspring.European journal of pediatrics · 2021Article
- Orofacial Clefts in High Prevalence Area of Birth Defects - Five Counties, Shanxi Province, China, 2000-2020.China CDC weekly · 2021Article
- Maternal periconceptional folic acid supplementation reduced risks of non-syndromic oral clefts in offspring.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Population Attributable Fractions of Modifiable Risk Factors for Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts: A Prospective Cohort Study From the Japan Environment and Children's Study.Journal of epidemiology · 2021Article
- Machine learning in prediction of genetic risk of nonsyndromic oral clefts in the Brazilian population.Clinical oral investigations · 2021Article
- Maternal Folic Acid Deficiency Is Associated to Developing Nasal and Palate Malformations in Mice.Nutrients · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveOrofacial 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.
designLiterature 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 into total OFC, non-syndromic forms, cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) and cleft palate only (CPO).
resultsWe found a significant effect of FA fortification only on non-syndromic CL/P (RR=0·88; 95 % CI 0·81, 0·96), whereas neutral effects were detected for total OFC (syndromic plus non-syndromic) and CPO.
conclusionsOur results may reflect the different aetiology of syndromic OFC with respect to non-syndromic forms and the CL/P related to CPO. Although the number of non-syndromic CL/P samples was lower than that for total OFC, the absence of both between-study heterogeneity and publication bias leads us to conclude that FA fortification may have beneficial effects on non-syndromic CL/P.
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