Cancer risk in children of mothers with epilepsy and high-dose folic acid use during pregnancy

Women with epilepsy are recommended high doses of folic acid before and during pregnancy owing to the risk of congenital anomalies associated with antiseizure medications. An observational cohort study in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden found that prenatal exposure to high-dose folic acid was associated with increased risk of cancer in children of mothers with epilepsy. The absolute risk was 1.4% in the group of folic acid exposed children versus 0.6% in the group of unexposed children (aHR 2,7; 95% CI 1.2-6.3).