Spina bifida, a birth defect involving the spinal cord, is common, life-threatening and permanently disabling. Although mandatory folic acid fortification of food supplies has been associated with reductions in the prevalence spina bifida (38% in the United States), spina bifida is far from being eradicated. Consequently, identifying additional interventions to reduce the prevalence of spina bifida remains a public health priority. Maternal weight is a potential target for such an intervention because: (i) the risk of spina bifida has consistently been observed to be increased in the offspring of obese women (BMI > 30 kg/m2), as compared to the offspring of women who fall in the normal BMI category (18.5 Spina bifida is a common, life-threatening and permanently disabling birth defect. Maternal obesity is one of the few known risk factors for spina bifida, but we do not understand how maternal weight affects risk or whether weight loss prior to pregnancy will reduce this risk. The proposed studies are designed to help us understand why maternal weight is associated with the risk of spina bifida and may help to identify ways of reducing risk.Public Health Relevance
| Benjamin, Renata H; Littlejohn, Sarah; Mitchell, Laura E (2018) Bariatric surgery and birth defects: A systematic literature review. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 32:533-544 |
| Hoang, Thanh T; Agopian, A J; Mitchell, Laura E (2018) Maternal Use of Weight Loss Products and the Risk of Neural Tube Defects in Offspring: A Systematic Literature Review. Birth Defects Res 110:48-55 |
