Is It Really Excess Folate When Pregnant Can Trigger Autism In Babies?

Medical Video: Autism & the Flu Factor During Pregnancy

Folate is one of the nutrients that must be fulfilled by pregnant women. In fact, even before getting pregnant, women have been advised to increase their intake of folate. Folate is an important nutrient for fetal growth and development, especially brain development, in the early days of pregnancy. Lack of folate early in pregnancy can increase the risk of birth defects.

What is folate?

Folate or vitamin B9 can be found in vegetables and fruits, such as spinach, asparagus, broccoli, oranges, avocados, papaya, bananas, nuts, dairy products, meat, chicken, eggs, and fish. Flour has also been fortified with folic acid (a form of synthesis from folate). Before becoming pregnant, women are recommended to consume 400 mcg of folate per day.

Cells in the body of a pregnant woman and fetus develop rapidly so that adequate folate intake is needed to help the cells work. Folate is needed by pregnant women to help the early development of the fetus, namely the initial growth of the brain and spinal cord. In addition, folate is also needed to prevent anemia in pregnant women. Folic acid deficiency in pregnant women can cause birth defects, such as neural tube defect (NTD), cleft lip, cleft palate, and other developmental disorders.

In addition to the diseases mentioned above, folate also turns out to be associated with autism in children born.

Too much folate is thought to trigger autism

Folate has an important role in fetal growth and development. However, excess folate also has a detrimental effect on the health of the fetus. Research shows that consuming too much folate is said to trigger autism in children.

Research from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that if a mother has very high levels of folate (4 times the recommended amount) right after giving birth, this will increase the risk of doubling for her child to suffer autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism. Autism is a disorder of brain development that can cause problems in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behavior. ASD is associated with intellectual disability, difficulty in motor coordination and attention, and physical health problems, such as sleep disorders and digestive disorders.

Based on this study it was also found that very high levels of vitamin B12 in mothers right after giving birth also had a 3-fold risk of developing ASD in children. If folate and vitamin B12 levels are found to be very high in the mother, then the risk of her child suffering from ASD increases to 17.6 times. The study involved 1391 mothers who gave birth to children between 1998 and 2013 and were followed for several years. The levels of folate in the mother's blood are checked once on the first day to the third after birth.

However, folate deficiency can also trigger autism

Researchers found that 1 in 10 mothers had excessive folate levels (more than 59 nanomoles per liter) and 6% of mothers had excess vitamin B12 levels (more than 600 picomole per liter). Excess folate levels in the mother's body can be caused by too much consumption of foods fortified with folic acid, too much consumption of folate supplements, or genetically able to absorb larger amounts, slower metabolism, or a combination of both.

However, lack of folate intake in early pregnancy can also increase the risk of ASD in children. So that prospective mothers are encouraged to meet folate needs to reduce their risk of ASD. Research involving 85176 children born between 2002-2008 showed that taking folic acid supplements before pregnancy was associated with a reduced risk of ASD in children (Suren, 2013). Case-control studies in California in ASD children also showed that mothers who consumed folic acid and vitamins for 3 months before pregnancy and during the first month of pregnancy were associated with a reduced risk of ASD in their children. Other studies have also shown that folate intake before pregnancy can reduce the risk of ASD in mothers whose folate metabolism is inefficient (Schmidt, 2012).

How can folate intake be in sufficient quantities?

The conclusion of some of the studies above is that mothers must fulfill their folate needs before and after pregnancy in sufficient portions, not too much and also not lacking. Too much folate intake and lack of folate intake, both can increase the risk of ASD in children born to mothers. If the mother has problems in meeting her body's folate needs, consumption of supplements is recommended in sufficient quantities.

It is best to consult a doctor before the mother decides to take supplements to find out the limits. However, try to get folate only from food sources if the mother does not have problems with her folate intake.

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