Folic acid in food ‘reduces spina bifida births

THE master of the country’s largest maternity hospital has called on the Government to fortify food with folic acid to reduce the number of babies born with spina bifida.

Speaking at a conference in Trinity College yesterday, Dr Sean Daly said Canada had achieved a 54% reduction in the number of babies born with spina bifida and anencephaly in a two-year period, following its decision to fortify food with folic acid in 1998.

He said the Government needed to introduce a similar programme here because of the high number of unplanned pregnancies. Research carried out in the Coombe from 2001/2002 found that of 15,000 deliveries, the rate of unplanned pregnancies was 36%. These women would not have been taking folic acid during the crucial period, one month prior to conceiving. “Over one-third of all births in the Coombe over the period were unplanned and obviously these women were not in a position to take the recommended dosage of folic acid. Added to that, our research showed that those women who had planned pregnancies did not take the requisite dosage,” said Dr Daly.

While Dr Daly’s findings were limited to the Coombe, he said the pattern at other maternity hospitals was likely to be similar.

“The reality is that public awareness campaigns are not making a difference,” he said.

Dr Daly is planning to write to Health Minister Micheál Martin outlining his findings. “We are going to advocate that food is fortified. We have the data now to back up our request and we intend to highlight that to the minister.”

In the US and Canada, millers fortify grain, which has a knock-on effect on many products in the food chain. It is a government-sponsored programme and Dr Daly intends to seek the introduction of a similar programme here.

Some individual food products are fortified by individual manufacturers, but Dr Daly wants a more extensive programme.

“Research shows folic acid can considerably reduce the risk of neural tube defects, and while all neural tube defects are not related to folic acid, up to half are likely to be preventable.

“The simple solution is to fortify food, such as flour, at source. This has been done in the US and Canada and is reflected by a reduction in the numbers of babies born with neural tube defects.” Dr Daly, who was speaking at a meeting of the British Isles Network of Congenital Anomalies Registers, said the fortification dosage as recommended in Britain would be at a level (240 micrograms per 100g of flour) which should not have major implication for other members of the population and in fact could, by reducing homocystene levels (a known risk factor for heart and vascular disease) help to reduce heart disease and stroke levels within the population as a whole.

A statement from the Department of Health said the question of the fortification of foods with folic acid had been discussed.

“The department intends to initiate a consultation process with stakeholders to consider the various factors involved, with a view to implementing the FSAI recommendation,” the statement said.