Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 CDC Home Search Health Topics A-Z

CDC Media Relations
Media Home | Contact Us
US Department of Health and Human Services logo and link

Media Relations Links
• About Us
• Media Contact
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Media Site Map

CDC News
• Press Release Library
• Transcripts
• MMWR Summaries
• B-Roll Footage
• Upcoming Events

Related Links
• Centers at CDC
• Data and Statistics
• Health Topics A-Z
• Image Library
• Publications, Software and Other Products
• Global Health Odyssey
Find your state or local health department
HHS News
National Health Observances
Visit the FirstGov Web Site
Div. of Media Relations
1600 Clifton Road
MS D-14
Atlanta, GA 30333
(404) 639-3286
Fax (404) 639-7394

Press Release

Embargoed until Thursday, January 30, 2003, 6:30 PM ET

January 27, 2003
CDC, Press Office
(404) 639-3286

Study Finds No Link Between Taking Folic Acid and Having Twins

New results from a study involving almost a quarter of a million women in China show that taking folic acid to reduce the risk of neural tube birth defects does not increase a woman's chances of giving birth to twins.

Multiple studies conducted during the past several decades have shown the consumption of folic acid before conception and during pregnancy can reduce the incidence of spina bifida and other neural tube defects. However, the results of some earlier, smaller studies raised the question of whether an increase in multiple births can be associated with the consumption of vitamin supplements containing folic acid during pregnancy.

This is the first scientific study of its kind done on a large population of young women with accurate records of their folic acid use before conception and during the early months of pregnancy. These women used folic acid without other vitamins.

Twin pregnancies often result in premature birth, leading to complications and long-term health problems for the children. But this new study finds no evidence of a link between folic acid consumption and multiple births.

“This is good news for women in the United States, in China, and around the world,” said Dr. José Cordero, the director of the CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. “Taking folic acid before and during early pregnancy to prevent some serious birth defects in their babies should not increase a woman’s chances of having a twin pregnancy.”

Among the 242,015 women in the study, there was no difference in the rates of twin births for women who took a daily pill containing 400 micrograms of folic acid before conception and during early pregnancy, compared with those who did not take any folic acid (less than 1 percent in each group). This particular study focuses on women who had participated in a previous project to prevent neural tube birth defects by taking 400 micrograms of folic acid a day in pill form.

Over the past decade in the United States, the incidence of spina bifida has been reduced by 32 percent. This decrease followed the Public Health Service’s 1992 recommendations urging women to increase their levels of folic acid prior to becoming pregnant.

The study, which appears in the February 1 issue of Lancet, was conducted by the CDC and the Peking University Health Sciences Center in China. The project, conducted in China, was a collaborative effort between lead author Zhu Li, M.D., M.P.H., and other researchers from the Peking University Health Sciences Center, China with R.J. Berry, M.D., M.P.H.T.M. and other researchers from the CDC’s National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.

# # #

CDC protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.


Media Home Page | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Contact Us

CDC Home | Search | Health Topics A-Z

This page last updated January 30, 2003
URL:

United States Department of Health and Human Services
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Office of Communication
Division of Media Relations