Health

NOTE TO EDITORS: The following opinion editorial was submitted by Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Calif.)

Washington, DC--(HISPANIC PR WIRE)--October 5, 2006--October is National Spina Bifida Awareness Month, and I am pleased to highlight the importance of folic acid in preventing this serious birth defect and to raise awareness about the needs of people living with Spina Bifida.

Approximately 3,000 babies are born in the United States each year with Spina Bifida, a serious birth defect of the brain or spine called a neural tube defect. Spina Bifida is the most common, permanently disabling birth defect and the leading cause of childhood paralysis, affecting more than 70,000 people in the United States.

A daily dose of 400 micrograms of folic acid taken by women of childbearing age has been proven in most pregnancies to prevent Spina Bifida, a leading cause of childhood paralysis. In response to research showing that the incidence of Spina Bifida could be reduced by up to 75 percent with the addition of folic acid in a woman’s diet, I introduced the Folic Acid Promotion and Birth Defects Prevention Act, which was passed into law as part of the Children’s Health Act of 2000.

The majority of women in this country are still not aware of the benefits of folic acid, and only 40 percent of women ages 18 to 45 take a daily vitamin with the recommended level of folic acid. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the rate of Spina Bifida in the Latino population is almost seven in 10 thousand births, nearly 40 percent higher than the non-Hispanic rate. And tragically, Hispanic women continue to have the lowest reported folic acid consumption of any racial or ethnic group.

I am happy to report that Gruma – one of the world’s largest producers of corn flour and tortillas – has begun researching and conducting product testing with a year-end goal of enriching with folic acid its corn products sold in the United States. Imported corn flours – unlike most wheat flour and cereal products – are currently not enriched with folic acid. This important voluntary action by Gruma has significant implications for improving the health and well-being of the Latino community in this country.

The key to a better life for Americans who live with Spina Bifida is research and improved quality-of-life, and this goal must be a national priority.