*Correspondence: gabriela.pelegrini2001@gmail.com.
Abstract
Background: Prenatal maternal diet is a critical factor in the neurodevelopment of the offspring.
Emerging evidence suggests that prenatal supplementation may also play a role in the
etiology of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studies carried out in animals and humans
show that folate plays a key role in the development of the nervous system. In short,
periconceptional folic acid can reduce the risk of ASD and the use of multivitamins
rich with folic acid used by women before fertilization and up to the first trimester
of pregnancy is also related to a numerous restriction of serious malformations. For
some women who do not have sufficient intakes of supplemental folic acid in the periconceptional
period, current levels of folic acid fortification may have increased blood folate
concentrations enough to facilitate neural tube closure and fetal survival, but not
enough to prevent milder anomalies of brain development, which in certain late fetuses
can have compromising neurodevelopmental implications, such as autism.
Objective: To summarize the evidence on the role of folic acid in periconceptional and prenatal
supplementation primarily on ASD-related features.
Methods: The following systematic literature review was carried out by searching publications
in the PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Scielo, Medline, Web of Science databases, in the
period between 2012 and 2022 with the terms “Supplementation of folic acid and TEA
and folic acid” and “Prenatal folic acid”. Original articles, systematic reviews and
publications assessed as relevant by the authors were selected. Exclusion criteria:
old articles, duplicate articles and articles that were not well evaluated.
Results: The research, based on the analyzed articles, found that there are promising results
regarding the use of folic acid and multivitamins, including vitamin D and other vitamins,
as potential protective factors in the prenatal period, obtaining good results in
the reduction of defects in tubes neural networks and reduced risk of ASD in the offspring.
Furthermore, there are no appreciable adverse effects with the use of folic acid in
the preconception period.
Conclusion: It is possible to conclude that the use of folic acid associated with multivitamin
supplementation, including vitamin D and B6, associated with dietary control decreases
the risk of neural tube defect and, thus, the incidence of ASD in the offspring.
