Background and objectives: Folic acid (400 μg/d) taken during the periconceptional period reduces neural tube defect (NTD) risk by >75%. Achieving red cell folate (RCF) or plasma folate (PF) >905 nmol/L and >35 nmol/L, respectively, has been associated with a low risk of NTDs. We determined whether daily consumption of folic acid fortified milk increases blood folate concentrations to levels associated with a low risk of NTDs in Singaporean women of childbearing age.
Methods and study design: In this double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 70 non-pregnant women (21-35 y) were randomly assigned to receive fortified milk (FM) powder providing 400 μg folic acid per day or unfortified placebo milk (PM) powder for 12 weeks. Blood samples were collected at baseline and at 6 and 12 weeks.
Results: At 12 weeks, mean (95% CI) RCF and PF concentrations were 376 (240, 512) and 39 (26, 51) nmol/L higher in the FM group compared with the PM group (p<0.001). Of the women receiving FM, 71% (n=25) and 86% (n=30) achieved a RCF and PF associated with a very low risk of NTDs, respectively.
Conclusion: Folic acid fortified milk increased blood folate concentrations in women of childbearing age to levels associated with a reduced risk of an NTD-affected pregnancy.
背景与研究目的：围孕期服用叶酸（400 微克/天）可以降低患有神经管缺陷的几率75%以 上。红细胞叶酸（RCF）含量大于905 nmol/L 或血浆叶酸（PF）大于35 nmol/L 时与神经 管缺陷的低风险有关。我们确定育龄新加坡妇女每天摄入叶酸强化牛奶是否会增加血液中 叶酸浓度，与神经管畸形的低风险水平有关。方法与研究设计：在为期12 周的双盲安慰剂 对照试验中，70 名非孕期妇女（21 至35 岁），分别随机给予添加了含量为每天400 微克 叶酸的奶粉（FM）和未添加叶酸的安慰剂奶粉（PM）。分别在实验初始、6 周以及12 周 对研究对象进行血液样本采集。结果：在12 周时，相比于PM 组，FM 组研究对象的红细 胞叶酸与血浆叶酸浓度的平均值（95% CI）分别高出376（240，512）和39（26，51） nmol/L （p<0.001）。在FM 组中，分别有71%（n=25）以及80%（n=30）的研究对象实现 了RCF 和PF 与极低神经管缺陷风险有关。结论：育龄妇女服用添加了叶酸的牛奶可以提 高血液叶酸含量并与降低神经管缺陷影响的怀孕有关。.