VOA慢速英语:Can Folic Acid Prevent Childhood Autism?

A new study found that women who took folic acid supplements in early pregnancy were less likely to have a child with autism. Folic acid is a B vitamin that helps the body build and repair cells. The study did not prove that folic acid can prevent childhood autism, but the findings suggest a connection. The researchers called for examining whether folic acid is associated with a reduced risk of other brain disorders in children.
一项新的研究发现，妇女在怀孕早期服用叶酸生下的孩子患有自闭症的概率更小。叶酸是一种维生素B，能帮助人体生成和修复细胞。这项研究并没有证明，叶酸可以预防儿童自闭症，但发现结果表明两者存在关联。研究人员呼吁调查叶酸是否能减少儿童患上其他脑部疾病的风险。

Children with autism have problems communicating and socializing with other people.
自闭症儿童存在沟通和与人交往存在障碍。

Researchers at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health looked at records of more 85,000 children born between 2002 and 2008.
挪威公共卫生研究院的研究研究人员观察记录了8.5万名生于2002到2008年的儿童。

The study asked mothers to describe their diets, including vitamins and other nutritional treatments, before and during their pregnancies.
该研究要求母亲们记录怀孕期间的饮食、维生素和其他营养疗法。

Research leader Pal Suren and his colleagues compared the women who took folic acid supplements to those who did not.
研究负责人Pal Suren和同事将服用叶酸补充剂和没有服用的妇女进行比较。

 “The women who took folic acid supplements in early pregnancy had a substantial reduction in risk of having a child with autism. The reduction was 40 percent.”
“在怀孕初期服用叶酸的孕妇生下的孩子患自闭症的风险更小，能降低40%的发病率。”

He says the best time to take folic acid to reduce the risk of autism seems to be from four weeks before to eight weeks after the start of pregnancy. The researchers found that taking folic acid halfway through pregnancy had no effect.
他说，为降低自闭症的几率，服用叶酸的最佳时间是怀孕后第四周到第八周之间。研究人员发现在，孕期中间服用叶酸没有效果。

After the babies were born, investigators followed up with the children through the end of March 2012. They wanted to find out how many developed any form of autism. Two hundred seventy of the children had some form of autism. The study found no reduction in the risk of some forms of autism. But it did find a lower risk for the most severe form. There were not enough children with a milder form known as Asperger's syndrome to make any findings.
婴儿出生后，研究人员追踪研究到2012年3月底，他们希望了解到底多少孩子患上自闭症。有270名儿童患上某种形式的自闭症。研究发现，某些自闭症的发病风险没有降低。但是，最严重的那些类型确实降低了。同时，也没有足够数量的儿童患上中度阿斯伯格综合症来作出任何结论。

The cause of autism is not known, but several genes may play a part.
自闭的病因尚不清楚，但一些基因会起到作用。

Folic acid has been linked to the development of a protective covering called the neural tube in a fetus. Women who do not get enough folic acid are at risk of giving birth to infants with part of their spinal cord or brain exposed. This disabling condition is called spina bifida.
叶酸与胎儿体内名为神经管的保护层的形成有关，那些没有补充足够叶酸的孕妇，其产下的婴儿可能有部分脊柱外露，这种疾病叫脊柱裂。

Ezra Susser of Columbia University in New York City was a co-author of the new study of folic acid.
纽约哥伦比亚大学的Ezra Susser是这份有关叶酸研究报告的合著者。

“These supplements are already recommended for other reasons. So this increases the reasons why we should recommend them.”
“这些补充剂已经因为某些原因而被推荐。因此，这就是为什么我们更应该推荐使用。”

Dark leafy vegetables, asparagus, broccoli and citrus fruit are rich sources of folate. Folate is the naturally occurring form of folic acid. Folate is also found in peas, lentils, beans, eggs, yeast and liver.
绿叶蔬菜、芦笋、花椰菜和柑橘类水果都含有丰富的叶酸，还是自然形式的叶酸。豌豆、扁豆、蚕豆、鸡蛋、酵母和肝脏里都含有叶酸。

Studies have shown that many pregnant women get less folate in their diet than they need to prevent neural tube defects. So folic acid supplements are commonly recommended for pregnant women. Some countries add folic acid to flour. Norway does not do that.
有研究表明，许多孕妇饮食中含有的叶酸不足以预防神经管缺陷。因此，我们通常建议孕妇服用叶酸补充剂。一些国家在面粉里加入叶酸，而挪威没有这样做。

The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
这项研究发表在《美国医学协会》杂志上。