Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41387300›Full record

ArticleBirth defects research2025

Maternal Folic Acid Supplement Use, Folate Intake, and Preterm Birth Among Infants With Spina Bifida.

Renata H Benjamin, Katherine L Ludorf, Rachel P Allred, Jenil R Patel, Wendy N Nembhard, Gary M Shaw, Suzan L Carmichael, Tania A Desrosiers, Eirini Nestoridi, Eva M Williford and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Birth defects research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Renata H BenjaminDepartment of Epidemiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) School of Public Health, Houston, Texas, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6406-4247
Katherine L LudorfDepartment of Epidemiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) School of Public Health, Houston, Texas, USA.
Rachel P AllredBirth Defects Epidemiology and Surveillance Branch, Texas Department of State Health Services, Austin, Texas, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0633-8013
Jenil R PatelDepartment of Epidemiology, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Dallas, Dallas, Texas, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4875-7390
Wendy N NembhardDepartment of Epidemiology, Fay W Boozman College of Public Health and the Arkansas Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8318-4049
Gary M ShawDepartment of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7438-4914
Suzan L CarmichaelDepartment of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA.
Tania A DesrosiersDepartment of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Eirini NestoridiDivision for Surveillance, Research, and Promotion of Perinatal Health, Center for Birth Defects Research and Prevention, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Eva M WillifordBirth Defects Registry, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3609-5665
A J AgopianDepartment of Epidemiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth Houston) School of Public Health, Houston, Texas, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5874-4155
National Birth Defects Prevention Study and the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS

Funding

UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CLINICAL NUTRITION RESEARCH UNITP30DK056350 · NIDDK · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · PI Venkata Saroja Voruganti · 1999 to 2026
$31.6M
ACL HHS U01DD001300ACL HHS U01DD001302ACL HHS U01DD001304ACL HHS U01DD001306ACL HHS U01DD001308ACL HHS U01DD001309CDC HHS FOA #DD09-001CDC HHS FOA #DD13-003CDC HHS NOFO #DD18-001CDC HHS NOFO #DD23-001CDC HHS PA #02081CDC HHS PA #96043National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) and/or the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS) AR U01DD001306National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) and/or the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS) CA U01DD001302National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) and/or the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS) MA U01DD001300National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) and/or the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS) NC U01DD001308National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) and/or the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS) NY DD001227National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) and/or the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS) NY U01DD001304National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS) and/or the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposures (BD-STEPS) TX U01DD001309NCBDD CDC HHS U01 DD001227NCBDD CDC HHS U01 DD001309NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK056350Nutrition Epidemiology Core of the University of North Carolina Clinical Nutrition Research Center DK56350
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWe sought to assess the extent to which folic acid supplementation and dietary folate intake are associated with preterm delivery among infants with spina bifida.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective population-based study using the National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS; 1999-2011) and the Birth Defects Study To Evaluate Pregnancy exposureS (BD-STEPS; 2014-2019). We utilized robust Poisson regression to calculate the risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the associations between preterm birth (< 37 weeks) and maternal use of folic acid-containing supplements, dietary folate intake quartile, and a combined variable accounting for supplementation and dietary folate status.

resultsAmong 1199 infants with spina bifida (1011 in NBDPS, 188 in BD-STEPS), 217 (18.1%) were born preterm. There were no statistically significant associations between preterm birth and lack of supplementation (RR 1.24, 95% CI: 0.92-1.69) or maternal dietary folate intake quartile (RRs 1.12-1.39). The combination of lack of supplementation and low dietary folate intake had the strongest association with preterm birth (RR 1.73, 95% CI: 1.01-2.96), compared to women who took supplements and had higher dietary folate intake.

conclusionsOur findings suggest a modestly elevated risk of preterm birth among infants with spina bifida born to women with the combination of no supplementation and low dietary folate intake. Future work confirming these findings and further investigating the timing of supplementation could help elucidate whether low folate intake is a risk factor for preterm birth in spina bifida-affected pregnancies.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsFolic AcidPremature BirthSpinal DysraphismAdultFemaleHumansInfant, NewbornMalePregnancyRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsFolic Aciddietary folate intakefolic acid supplementationpreterm birthspina bifida

Identifiers

PMID41387300
PMCPMC12700770

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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.