© 2004 Canadian Medical Association or its licensors Research

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: Canada; First Nations
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.621.8231; http://www.cmaj.ca/content/171/4/343.full.pdf

The risk of neural tube defects (NTDs) can be re-duced by periconceptional folic acid supplementa-tion.1 In previous US studies, the NTD rate varied with ethnicity,2,3 but potential confounders, including ma-ternal weight4 and the presence of diabetes mellitus,5 were not controlled for. Because no data exist on the relationship between ethnicity and the occurrence of NTDs in preg-nancies in Canada, including pregnancies of women of First Nations origin, we initiated the following study. Methods We performed a retrospective population-based study and in-cluded all women in Ontario who underwent antenatal maternal serum screening (MSS) between 1994 and late 2000. Since 1993, standardized MSS has been accessible to all women at 15 to 20 weeks ’ gestation through any physician or midwife, with a mean rate of uptake of more than 70%.6 Self-declared maternal date of birth, ethnicity and weight and the presence of pregestational dia-