Prenatal Vitamins Reduce Risk of Childhood Cancer

Remember the research that resulted in the advice that all women of childbearing age should take prenatal vitamins all the time?

A new analysis of all the published research on prenatal vitamins have lead to a startling relevation: prenatal vitamins containing folic acid taken during pregnancy reduces the risk of childhood cancer.

The new research, published in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics supports the use of the inexpensive, common supplement used by most pregnant women.

The study found that children born of mothers who took a daily multivitamin containing folic acid had a 47-per-cent lower risk for neuroblastoma (the most deadly form of childhood cancer), a 39-per-cent lower risk for leukemia (the most common form of pediatric cancer) and a 27-per-cent lower risk for brain tumours, said an article about the study in the Globe and Mail.

Discussions about vitamins have been rather heated on this site in the past. To prevent another outburst, I would like to clarify that this research has been conducted by the Motherisk program based at the hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The hospital and its project are publically funded by Canadian tax payers as part of the provincial medical system that provides care for everyone and conducts research in the public interest. It’s also been published in a peer-reviewed journal.