Obesity is associated with twofold increased risk of neural tube defects (NTD).
Research has repeatedly shown that about 70% of NTD are folic-acid dependent.
Yet, there is controversy whether folic acid status is the main determinant of
the increased risk of obesity-induced NTD.
The rational for this review is to update and discuss the evidence on the link
between obesity, folic acid and NTD, in an attempt to shed light on the question
whether optimal folic acid dose schedule can mitigate this risk.
During pregnancy maternal folate requirements increase by 5–10-fold, as folate
is diverted towards the placenta and fetus, as well as supporting different
maternal organs. Correspondingly, low maternal folate status has been associated
with birth defects in fetal anatomical regions particularly sensitive to reduced
folate intake including oral cleft, cardiovascular defects and NTD.
A recent study has documented decreased placental folate transporter expression
and activity in the first and second trimesters among obese mothers. This may
explain the higher incidence on NTD in infants of obese women, as less folate may
find its way to the developing fetus during the sensitive periods for creating
NTD.
Recent pharmacokinetic results indicate that steady state levels of folate are
almost perfectly defined by the dose per lean body weight (LBW). The mean dose
per kg LBW that would be expected to result in steady state serum folate level of
Announcements
Open Access
Review
Obesity, neural tube defects and folic acid—A complex relationship
Gideon Koren1,*, Yusuf C Kaplan2,3
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1
Head of Pharmacology, Adelson school of medicine, Ariel University, and Director, Motherisk International, 40700 Ariel, Israel
2
Terafar-Izmir Katip Celebi University Teratology Information, Training and Research Center, 35620 Izmir, Turkey
3
Izmir University of Economics Faculty of Medicine, 35330 Izmir, Turkey
*Correspondence: gidiup_2000@yahoo.com (Gideon Koren)
Clin. Exp. Obstet. Gynecol. 2021, 48(2), 223–227;
https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog.2021.02.2304
Submitted: 23 September 2020 | Revised: 8 November 2020 | Accepted: 9 December 2020 | Published: 15 April 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Obesity in pregnancy: risks and management)
Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract
Keywords
Obesity
Pregnancy
Folic acid
Neural tube defects
Spina bifida
Congenital abnormalities