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Volume 2, Number
4, 2012
Synthetic folic acid supplementation during pregnancy may
increase the risk of developing autism
M. Catherine DeSoto a,* and Robert T. Hitlan
a
a
Department of Psychology, University of Northern Iowa Cedar
Falls, Iowa, USA
Abstract.
Persons in developed countries are getting large amounts of
folates in the form of folic acid. Folates are now ingested
in three ways: as natural folates from food, as synthetic
folic acid added to processed grains, and synthetic vitamin
supplements. As a result of the supplementation, the
circulating level of unmetabolized folic acid as well as
total folates has greatly increased over the past
generation, probably to levels largely unprecedented in
human history. Folic acid has been shown to be able to
epigenetically alter the functioning of the genome and to
have long term effects on gene expression. The Centers for
Disease Control Vaccine Safety Data link public use data set
compared children with autism to control children on several
variables. Here, we report that folic acid supplementation
during gestation is associated with an increased risk for
autism. The effect remains even when health seeking
behaviors and other variables are controlled.
Keywords: Folic acid, excess vitamins,
autism, folate, synthetic vitamins |
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