ReviewChild's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery2023
Global strategies for the prevention of neural tube defects through the improvement of folate status in women of reproductive age.
Review in Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Global folate deficiency among adolescent girls: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2026Pooled it
- FIGO good practice recommendations on anemia in pregnancy, to reduce the incidence and impact of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025Guideline
- Beyond Folate: The Emerging Role of Maternal Vitamin B12 in Neural Tube Development.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Sex and gender differences in responses to antianemic therapies: biological mechanisms and clinical implications.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Review
- Article
- Burden of neural tube defects in the Middle East and North Africa from 1990 to 2021: Findings from the global burden of disease study.Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences · 2025Article
- Parental Characteristics Associated With Children Born With Neural Tube Defects in Puebla, Mexico.Cureus · 2025Article
- The Cost of Expanding Ethiopia's Salt Iodization Program to Include Multiple Micronutrients.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Clinical and epidemiological profile of neonatal neural tube defects in Turkey: a nationwide retrospective cohort analysis.Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Improving Folic Acid Supplementation Through Electronic Medical Record Interface Modifications-A Retrospective Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Biological, dietetic and pharmacological properties of vitamin BNPJ science of food · 2025Review
- Development and Characterization of Refractance Window-DriedFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Hidden hunger in Europe: a review on determinants, fragmented policy responses, and implementation barriers.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- National strategies for screening neural tube defects in Saudi Arabia: activating prevention and early intervention.Frontiers in public health · 2025Review
- A Multilevel Analysis of the Association Between Quality of Antenatal Care and Folic Acid Supplementation During Pregnancy Among Guatemalan Women.Global health, epidemiology and genomics · 2025Article
- Preconceptional and Periconceptional Folic Acid Supplementation in the Visegrad Group Countries for the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Unveiling the Therapeutic Potential of Folate-Dependent One-Carbon Metabolism in Cancer and Neurodegeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Folic acid utilization and associated factors among pregnant women who attended public health facilities of illuababor zone, Southwest Ethiopia.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionNeural tube defects represent a global public health problem, mainly in countries where effective prevention strategies are not yet in place. The global prevalence of neural tube defects is estimated at 18.6/10,000 (uncertainty interval: 15.3-23.0) live births, where ~ 75% of cases result in under-five mortality. Most of the mortality burden is in low- and middle-income countries. The main risk factor for this condition is insufficient folate levels in women of reproductive age.
methodsThis paper reviews the extent of the problem, including the most recent global information on folate status in women of reproductive age and the most recent estimates of the prevalence of neural tube defects. Additionally, we provide an overview of the available interventions worldwide to reduce the risk of neural tube defects by improving folate status in the population, including dietary diversification, supplementation, education, and fortification.
resultsLarge-scale food fortification with folic acid is the most successful and effective intervention to reduce the prevalence of neural tube defects and associated infant mortality. This strategy requires the coordination of several sectors, including governments, the food industry, health services providers, the education sector, and entities that monitor the quality of the service processes. It also requires technical knowledge and political will. An international collaboration between governmental and non-governmental organizations is essential to succeed in saving thousands of children from a disabling but preventable condition. DISCUSSION: We propose a logical model for building a national-level strategic plan for mandatory LSFF with folic acid and explain the actions needed for promoting sustainable system-level change.
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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.