[Association between maternal periconceptional supplementation of folic acid or multiple micronutrients containing folic acid and perinatal mortality rate].

Abstract

Objective: To describe the prevalence of perinatal death in Tongzhou District of Beijing, and to estimate the association between maternal periconceptional supplementation of folic acid or multiple micronutrients containing folic acid and perinatal mortality rate.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted based on the maternal and child care system in Tongzhou District of Beijing. The subjects were 94 490 perinatal who were born during January 2013 to December 2018. The information on perinatal outcomes and maternal periconceptional supplementation of folic acid or multiple micronutrients containing folic acid were collected. The Poisson log-linear model was used to estimate the association between maternal periconceptional folic acid or multiple micronutrients supplementation and perinatal mortality rate.

Results: The overall perinatal mortality rate was 2.71‰. The perinatal mortality rates for maternal nutrients supplementation containing folic acid and no supplementation during periconceptional period were 2.63‰ and 3.43‰, respectively, and the difference in rates was not statistically significant [crude risk ratio (cRR) = 0.77, 95%CI: 0.54-1.14]. After adjusting for potential confounding factors including ethnicity, age, education level, occupation, household registration, parity, numbers of fetuses, gestational age, pregnant with assisted reproductive technology, delivery year and pre-pregnancy body mass index, the rates remained not statistically significant [adjusted risk ratio (aRR) = 0.93, 95%CI: 0.77-1.13]. The perinatal mortality rates were 2.23‰ and 2.99‰ for pure folic acid and multi-nutrients supplements containing folic acid, respectively, and the difference in rates was statistically significant (cRR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.02-1.76). The rates difference remained statistically significant after adjusting for potential confounders (aRR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.06-1.62). Additionally, the perinatal mortality rates differences among the non-supplementation group and the supplementation group with variate timing of initiation (pre-conception or post-conception) or frequency of supplementation (low-frequency or high-frequency) were not statistically significant, regardless of adjusting for confounders.

Conclusion: The overall perinatal mortality rate was lower than the national average level in Tongzhou District of Beijing. Maternal periconceptional supplementation of pure folic acid or micronutrients containing folic acid had no impact on perinatal mortality. The association between maternal periconceptional supplementation of multiple micronutrients containing folic acid and perinatal mortality rate need further research.