Folic acid supplementation prevents over 70% of Spina Bifida cases

Key facts

• Spina Bifida is a birth defect of the spinal cord that causes serious childhood paralysis and occurs in more than 25,000 children in India each year, making the country home to one of the highest prevalence rates of this condition in the world.
• Since 1991, the fact that pre-conceptional intake of folic acid by women can prevent more than 70% of Spina Bifida cases has been known, after the results of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Vitamin Study were published in The Lancet.
• In India, in contrast, the prevalence rate remains unacceptably high, at about 4 per 1,000, primarily because no such efforts have been undertaken.
• Additionally, affected children may have associated problems such as excessive water in the brain (hydrocephalus), urinary and bowel incontinence (lack of control) and orthopaedic issues such as club feet, and other medical problems.
• A preliminary trial for tea fortification (results of which were published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health) found that tea could potentially be vehicle for fortification with folate and vitamin B12 in India, in order to help eliminate haematological and neurological complications.
• It is only efforts such as these that will contribute toward the primary prevention of Spina Bifida and anencephaly, averting stillbirths, and under-five deaths due to these birth defects says Vijaya Kancherla, director, Center for Spina Bifida Prevention (CSBP) at Emory University, U.S.
• Each rupee spent on prevention in this regard can help save more than 100 rupees required for treatment and rehabilitation.