Study Sees 2nd Fetal Benefit in Folic Acid

By REUTERS

HICAGO, Oct. 15 — Folic acid, the B vitamin that has been found to prevent birth defects, may also reduce the rate of miscarriages early in pregnancy, researchers say.

Folic acid, found naturally in liver and raw vegetables, plays so important a role in fetal growth that the government requires that grain products be fortified with it. But not every country has such a program, and some studies have raised concerns that higher levels of the vitamin may be linked to miscarriages.

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The new study, being reported on Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association, was conducted in Sweden, where fortification has not been introduced. The researchers, from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden and the United States' National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, studied 468 women who suffered miscarriages before the 20th week of pregnancy and 921 others.

It found that women with low levels of the vitamin were at nearly a 50 percent increased risk of miscarriage. Women who had higher levels showed no increased risk. "Fortification most likely will not increase spontaneous abortion rates," the authors said, "and might even decrease them."