Prenatal folate, homocysteine and vitamin B12 levels and child brain volumes, cognitive development and psychological functioning: the Generation R Study

The British Journal of Nutrition
Charlotte L ArsTonya White

Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that prenatal maternal folate deficiency is associated with reduced prenatal brain growth and psychological problems in offspring. However, little is known about the longer-term impact. The aims of this study were to investigate whether prenatal maternal folate insufficiency, high total homocysteine levels and low vitamin B12 levels are associated with altered brain morphology, cognitive and/or psychological problems in school-aged children. This study was embedded in Generation R, a prospective population-based cohort study. The study sample consisted of 256 Dutch children aged between 6 and 8 years from whom structural brain scans were collected using MRI. The mothers of sixty-two children had insufficient (9·1 µmol/l) predicted poorer performance on the language (B -0·31; 95 % CI -0·56, -0·06; P=0·014) and visuo-spatial domains (B -0·36; 95 % CI -0·60, -0·11; P=0·004). No associations with psychological problems were found. Our findings suggest that folate insufficiency in early pregnancy has a long-lasting, global effect on brain development and is, together with homocysteine levels, associated with poorer cognitive performance.

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Citations

Oct 25, 2017·European Journal of Epidemiology·Tonya WhiteHenning Tiemeier
Mar 2, 2017·The Journal of Biological Chemistry·Stephanie Olivier-Van StichelenJohn A Hanover
Mar 1, 2020·Journal of Neuroscience Research·Hiba Al RubayeNafisa M Jadavji
Aug 25, 2020·Autism Research : Official Journal of the International Society for Autism Research·Masoud AmiriTonya White
Apr 4, 2020·European Journal of Clinical Nutrition·Xiangyuan HuangWeili Yan
Jan 11, 2017·European Journal of Epidemiology·Marjolein N KooijmanVincent W V Jaddoe
Jul 28, 2017·European Journal of Nutrition·Szabolcs PéterManfred Eggersdorfer
Nov 18, 2018·Nutrition Reviews·Rafael BarraAlejandro Hernández

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