Purpose: Folate insufficiency due to nutritional deficiency or folate processing gene mutations has been proposed as a trisomy 21 risk factor. This study examined the possibility that increased folic acid intake among women of childbearing age may decrease the prevalence of trisomy 21 and other aneuploidies.
Methods: The prevalence of aneuploidies from 1990 through 1999 was compared with folic acid use in women of childbearing age in South Carolina.
Results: Folic acid use and the prevalence of all aneuploidies significantly increased during this period.
Conclusion: Increased folic acid utilization in South Carolina was not associated with decreased prevalence of trisomy 21 or other aneuploidies.