Correlation between Birth Defects and Dietary Nutrition Status in A High Incidence Area of China
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between birth defects and dietary nutrient intake in a high risk area of China. METHODS: A dietary survey was performed and serum folic acid was measured in women whose pregnancy was affected by neural tube defects (NTDs) or unaffected by any birth defects (BDs) in Zhongyang and Jiaokou Counties in Shanxi Province of China. RESULTS: The local average consumption of foods including dark green vegetables, fruits, fat and meat, and nutrient intake (e.g., energy, protein, retinol, riboflavin, vitamin E, and selenium) were lower than the national average level. In women of childbearing age, these regions, the intake of nutrients was much lower than the recommended nutrient intake (9%-77%). The case-control dietary nutrition study of women whose pregnancy was affected by BDs (including NTDs and congenital heart defects) demonstrated that, in early pregnancy, adequate nutrition (i.e., eating meat, fresh vegetables, fruit more than once a week) was a protective factor, while eating germinated potatoes was a risk factor. The geometrical mean (p5-p95) of serum folic acid in women with NTD birth defects was 9.6 nmol/L (3.6, 23.03), which was significantly lower than that in normal women (14.03 nmol/L). CONCLUSION: Women of childbearing age in the two counties of Shanxi Province, China, have a marked insufficient intake of some nutrients, especially folic acid, zinc, vitamins A and B12. This nutrient deficiency may be an important risk factor for the high prevalence of birth defects in these regions. Therefore, adequate dietary nutrition in early pregnancy can prevent BDs.
JOUR
Zhang, Baoyuan
Zhang, Ting
Lin, Liangming
Wang, Fang
Xin, Ruolei
Gu, Xue
He, Yuna
Yu, Dongmei
Li, Peizhen
Zhang, Qingshan
Zhao, Jin
Qin, Yufu
Yang, Xiufeng
Chen, Gong
Liu, Jufen
Song, Xinming
Zheng, Xiaoying
2008
Biomedical and Environmental Sciences
21
1
37-44
2008/05/16
0895-3988 (Print) 0895-3988 (Linking)
10.1016/s0895-3988(08)60005-7
959