Taking vitamins before, during pregnancy slashes autism risk by 75%, new study shows

Women who take multivitamins and folic acid during or before pregnancy cut the risk of their children developing autism by nearly three quarters, according to new research.A study of more than 45,000 children whose mothers had taken supplements were 73 percent less likely to be on the autism spectrum.

Mothers who consumed the supplements up to two years before pregnancy also reduced the risk of the developmental disorder in their children by 61 percent.The research highlights the importance of a healthy diet especially before pregnancy as serious fetal defects develop in the first three weeks of gestation – often before women know they are pregnant.

The study from Haifa University in Israel followed 43,500 Israeli children born between 2003 and 2007 until 2015.The findings published in JAMA Psychiatry is the first to look for a link between multi-vitamin exposure and autism for an extended period before pregnancy.

Study author Professor Stephen Levine said: “Maternal exposure to folic acid and multivitamin supplements before and during pregnancy is associated with a reduced risk of autism spectrum disorder in the offspring compared with the offspring of mothers without such exposure.”Levine said the phenomenon could be due to a process known as epigenetic modifications.

These are alterations in gene expression that can’t be explained by changes in the genetic sequence, meaning they are caused by environmental factors such as diet.The results are consistent with those from previous studies that show taking folic acid from four weeks before and eight weeks into pregnancy protects against autism.

“This interval is considered relevant to the development of the central nervous system, includes neural tube closure, and is implicated in the development of basic brain structures,” said Levine.Previous studies have linked vitamin deficiency during pregnancy with deficits in neural development in children, leading doctors to recommend folic acid to pregnant women.

Folic acid is a water-soluble B vitamin that can treat anemia and is often used as a prenatal supplement. The two most common neural tube defects are spina bifida, where the spinal column does not close completely, and anencephaly, and condition where a baby’s brain and skull do not fully develop.

Both of those conditions develop within the first few weeks of pregnancy. Autism refers to a range of developmental disorders that begin in childhood, affecting one in 68 children.It is three times more common in boys than girls with symptoms including difficulty with social interactions, impaired language and communication skills and unusual behavior.Those on the autism spectrum may be over-sensitive to sounds, touch, smells and taste and symptoms can range from mild to severe.