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Folic acid supplementation during the first trimester of pregnancy is recommended to help prevent neural tube defects, but some evidence suggests that it increases risk for atopy and airway disease in offspring. In a large, retrospective, cohort study, researchers in Norway examined the association between folic acid supplementation and wheeze or lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in 32,077 pregnant women and their children through age 18 months.
Most women (79%) reported folic acid supplement use during pregnancy; of these, 22% reported use only during the first trimester. Factors associated with folic acid supplement use were not smoking during pregnancy, higher maternal age, history of atopy, longer duration of breast-feeding, highe…