title: Correlation between birth defects and dietary nutrition status in a high incidence area of China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between birth defects and dietary nutrient intake in a high risk area of China.
  
  
  METHODS
  A dietary survey was performed and serum folic acid was measured in women whose pregnancy was affected by neural tube defects (NTDs) or unaffected by any birth defects (BDs) in Zhongyang and Jiaokou Counties in Shanxi Province of China.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The local average consumption of foods including dark green vegetables, fruits, fat and meat, and nutrient intake (e.g., energy, protein, retinol, riboflavin, vitamin E, and selenium) were lower than the national average level. In women of childbearing age, these regions, the intake of nutrients was much lower than the recommended nutrient intake (9%-77%). The case-control dietary nutrition study of women whose pregnancy was affected by BDs (including NTDs and congenital heart defects) demonstrated that, in early pregnancy, adequate nutrition (i.e., eating meat, fresh vegetables, fruit more than once a week) was a protective factor, while eating germinated potatoes was a risk factor. The geometrical mean (p5-p95) of serum folic acid in women with NTD birth defects was 9.6 nmol/L (3.6, 23.03), which was significantly lower than that in normal women (14.03 nmol/L).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women of childbearing age in the two counties of Shanxi Province, China, have a marked insufficient intake of some nutrients, especially folic acid, zinc, vitamins A and B12. This nutrient deficiency may be an important risk factor for the high prevalence of birth defects in these regions. Therefore, adequate dietary nutrition in early pregnancy can prevent BDs.
authors.affiliation: Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing 100020, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Yuan
authors.initials: BY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ting
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Liang-Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ruo-Lei
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.forename: Yu-Na
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Dong-Mei
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Pei-Zhen
authors.initials: PZ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Qing-Shan
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yu-Fu
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.forename: Xiu-Feng
authors.initials: XF
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Gong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ju-Fen
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xin-Ming
authors.initials: XM
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Xiao-Ying
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D009436:Neural Tube Defects / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid