Folic Acid Supplementation in Foods May Reduce Psychosis Among Kids

Beyond protecting against birth defects such as spina bifida, fortifying grains with folic acid may also improve fetal brain development and reduce the risk of developing psychosis. Researchers reviewed 1,400 MRI brain scans of children who were born either before or after folic acid fortification became mandatory in the United States in the late 1990s and found that those born after fortification went into effect had significantly thicker brain tissue than those born in previous years. This group also had delayed thinning of the cerebral cortex in regions linked to schizophrenia risk. Corresponding author Dr. Joshua Roffman comments, “What we and others are showing is that prenatal folic acid may also confer protection against severe mental illness in youth, which was not anticipated.” JAMA Psychiatry, June 2018