OBJECTIVES 1) To understand the current prevalence and main types of birth defects, 2) assess the periconceptional exposure of factors associated with birth defects in Shaanxi Province, and 3) provide scientific evidence for local governments to formulate services for the primary prevention of birth defects. METHODS We sampled 16,541 households from 128 townships in 16 counties/districts in S...

In experimental animals, maternal diet during the periconceptional period influences the establishment of DNA methylation at metastable epialleles in the offspring, with permanent phenotypic consequences. Pronounced naturally occurring seasonal differences in the diet of rural Gambian women allowed us to test this in humans. We show that significant seasonal variations in methyl-donor nutrient ...

Introduction Phenotypic expression depends on the interaction between the genotype (nature) and the environment (nurture). This is true for all living organisms, but the physiologic mechanisms that mediate this interaction remain poorly understood. Very early developmental events generally are regarded as being buffered from environmental effects (ie, they are canalized), but it is now clear th...

OBJECTIVE As a means to prevent neural tube defects (NTDs), women planning pregnancy in Denmark are recommended to take a dietary supplement of 400 microg folic acid daily during the periconceptional period. We examined compliance with this recommendation in a national survey. DESIGN Cohort study on pregnant women in Denmark. SETTING The Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). SUBJECTS From ...

Maternal nutrition plays a crucial role in influencing fertility, fetal development, birth outcomes, and breast milk composition. During the critical window of time from conception through the initiation of complementary feeding, the nutrition of the mother is the nutrition of the offspring-and a mother's dietary choices can affect both the early health status and lifelong disease risk of the o...

BACKGROUND Many studies have described the prescribing of drugs to pregnant women, but only very few have data concerning the periconceptional period specifically. AIM The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence of exposure to teratogenic drugs during early pregnancy and to determine whether a safer drug exists. METHODS In a French health insurances database, we analyzed drugs prescr...

The objective was to assess the independent effect of regular periconceptional multivitamin use on the risk of preeclampsia. Pregnant women (n=1,835) enrolled in the Pregnancy Exposures and Preeclampsia Prevention Study (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1997-2001) at less than 16 weeks' gestation were asked whether they regularly used multivitamins or prenatal vitamins in the past 6 months. Women were...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine periconceptional misreporting of energy intake (EI) using the Willet food frequency questionnaire (WFFQ). METHODS Women were recruited in the first trimester. Women completed a semi-quantitative WFFQ. Maternal body composition was measured using eight-electrode bioelectrical impedance analysis. Under-reporters were those whos...

In November 1993 the Dutch Inspectorate of Public Health advised that all women planning a pregnancy should consume 0.5 mg of folic acid daily in the periconceptional period, that is from four weeks before conception until eight weeks thereafter. Thus the risk of fetal neural tube defects (NTD) would be reduced by 50%. As fortified foods were not available in the Netherlands because of legal re...

Each year, more than 4500 pregnancies in the European Union are affected by neural tube defects. Unambiguous evidence of the effectiveness of periconceptional folic acid in preventing neural tube defects has been available since 1991, and improving folate status sufficiently could result in the prevention of more than two thirds of all neural tube defects. We report on trends in the prevalence ...