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Studies in rodents have shown associations of maternal folate deficiency with structural brain abnormalities ( 19) and poor post-natal learning ability in the offspring ( 20). Literature reporting associations between maternal folate status during pregnancy and later cognitive ability in the offspring are few, and limited mainly to animal studies ( 19, 20). Deficiency of these nutrients during pregnancy has been linked to fetal growth restriction and neural tube defects ( 8, 15- 18). Vitamin B-12 deficiency is common in Indians including pregnant women and children ( 9- 13) and has been attributed mainly to vegetarian diet, with or without malabsorption due to intestinal infections ( 14). Folate deficiency has been reported in Indians ( 9- 11). A recent review has reported that circulating levels of vitamin B-12 and total homocysteine (tHcy), a functional measure of folate or vitamin B-12 status, drop during normal pregnancy ( 8). Deficiencies of folate and vitamin B-12 are prevalent across the globe ( 7). The folate and vitamin B-12 supply to the growing fetus depends on maternal folate and vitamin B-12 status ( 4- 6). There were no consistent associations of maternal B-12 and homocysteine concentrations with childhood cognitive performance.įolate and vitamin B-12 are important micronutrients essential for neurodevelopment and function in the antenatal and early postnatal period ( 1- 3).
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The associations with learning ability and long-term storage/retrieval, visuo-spatial ability, attention and concentration were independent of maternal age, BMI, parity, the parents’ education, socio-economic status, rural/urban residence, religion, the child’s gestational age, birth size, sex and the children’s size, educational level and folate and B-12 concentrations at 9.5 y. There was a 0.1-0.2 SD increase in the children’s cognitive scores per SD increase in maternal folate concentration (p<0.001 for all tests). During pregnancy 4% of mothers had low folate concentrations (10 μmol/L). The children’s cognitive function was measured using 3 core tests from the Kaufman Assessment Battery and additional tests measuring learning ability, long-term storage/retrieval, attention and concentration, visuo-spatial and verbal abilities. Maternal folate, B-12 and homocysteine concentrations were measured in stored plasma samples taken at 30☒ wk gestation. To test the hypothesis that lower maternal plasma folate and B-12 concentrations and higher plasma homocysteine concentrations during pregnancy, are associated with poorer neurodevelopment, cognitive function was assessed during 2007-2008 among 536 children (aged 9-10 y) from the Mysore Parthenon birth cohort. Few studies have examined the relationship of maternal folate and B-12 status during pregnancy to offspring cognitive function. Folate and vitamin B-12 (B-12) are essential for normal brain development.