Overview

• Published Aug. 26 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the CDC analysis used NHANES data from 2007 to March 2020 on 5,374 non-pregnant, non-lactating women ages 12–49.
• Overall, 66% had at least one modifiable risk factor tied to selected structural birth defects, and about 10% had three or more.
• Key prevalences included diabetes at 4.8% (with 3.5% uncontrolled or undiagnosed), obesity near one in three, tobacco exposure in nearly one in five, and very low household food security at about 7.3%.
• Low red blood cell folate declined from 23.4% in 2007 to 17.9% in 2020, yet roughly four in five women consumed less than the recommended 400 micrograms of folic acid daily; fortification is estimated to prevent over 1,300 neural-tube-defect–affected births each year.
• Researchers emphasize prevention steps such as daily folic acid, healthy diet and exercise, and glycemic control, while noting the study focused on selected, well-established risk factors and defect types.