Artículo
Prevalencia de defectos del tubo neural y estimación de casos evitados posfortificación en Argentina
Prevalence of neural tube defects and estimation of cases averted in the post-fortification period in Argentina
Registro en:
10.5546/aap.2015.498
Autor
Bidondo, María Paz
Liascovich, Rosa
Barbero, Pablo
Groisman, Boris
Resumen
Fil: Bidondo, María P. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” (ANLIS); Argentina. Fil: Liascovich, Rosa. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” (ANLIS); Argentina. Fil: Barbero, Pablo. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” (ANLIS); Argentina. Fil: Groisman, Boris. Administración Nacional de Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud “Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán” (ANLIS); Argentina. Periconceptional intake of folic acid has demonstrated to be effective to reduce the frequency of neural tube defects, and food fortification has been one of the strategies implemented to increase it. An update is herein presented on the reduced prevalence of neural tube defect cases in the post-fortification period in Argentina and an estimation of cases averted in the 2005-2013 period as a result of this intervention. When comparing the prevalence observed in the post-fortification period to that reported in the pre-fortification period, anencephaly and encephalocele decreased by 66%, and spina bifida, by 47%, which were significant reductions. The estimated number of cases averted was higher for anencephaly, followed by spina bifida; encephalocele showed the lowest number of cases averted given that the prevalence of this defect was smaller. The decrease observed in the prevalence supports findings from previous studies on the impact of fortification.