Objective To explore if there is an increased cancer risk associated with folic acid supplements given orally. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies of folic acid supplementation in humans reporting cancer incidence and/or cancer mortality. Studies on folic acid fortification of foods were not included. Data sources Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase and Centre of Reviews and Dissemination, clinical trial registries and hand-searching of key journals. Results From 4104 potential references, 19 studies contributed data to our meta-analyses, including 12 randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Meta-analysis of the 10 RCTs reporting overall cancer incidence (N=38 233) gave an RR of developing cancer in patients randomised to folic acid supplements of 1.07 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.14) compared to controls. Overall cancer incidence was not reported in the seven observational studies. Meta-analyses of six RCTs reporting prostate cancer incidence showed an RR of prostate cancer of 1.24 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.49) for the men receiving folic acid compared to controls. No significant difference in cancer incidence was shown between groups receiving folic acid and placebo/control group, for any other cancer type. Total cancer mortality was reported in six RCTs, and a meta-analysis of these did not show any significant difference in cancer mortality in folic acid supplemented groups compared to controls (RR 1.09, 95% CI 0.90 to 1.30). None of the observational studies addressed mortality. Conclusions A meta-analysis of 10 RCTs showed a borderline significant increase in frequency of overall cancer in the folic acid group compared to controls. Overall cancer incidence was not reported in the seven observational studies. Prostate cancer was the only cancer type found to be increased after folic acid supplementation (meta-analyses of six RCTs). Prospective studies of cancer development in populations where food is fortified with folic acid could indicate whether fortification similar to supplementation moderately increases prostate cancer risk.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000653 | DOI Listing |
BMJ Public Health
July 2024
Nutrition International, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Introduction: Micronutrient deficiencies are common among women of reproductive age (WRA) and children in Senegal. Large-scale food fortification (LSFF) can help fill gaps in dietary intakes.
Methods: We used household food consumption data to model the contributions of existing LSFF programs (vitamin A-fortified refined oil and iron and folic acid-fortified wheat flour) and the potential contributions of expanding these programs to meeting the micronutrient requirements of WRA (15-49 years) and children (6-59 months).
J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich)
January 2025
Center for Single-Cell Omics, School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Evidence suggests that approximately 63.0%-84.2% of stroke survivors have hypertension, yet there is currently no stroke prediction tool specifically designed for individuals with hypertension.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNaunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol
January 2025
Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, 243 122, India.
Betulinic acid (BA) has been shown to exhibit various pharmacological activities and it has shown the protective effect on acute renal failure (ARF) and chronic renal failure (CRF); however, no reports are available on its effect on ARF-CRF transition. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects of BA on ARF-CRF transition. A single dose of 250 mg/kg body weight (BW) intraperitoneal injection of folic acid was given in mice for inducing ARF-CRF transition (injury group; I) on day 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlob Health Action
December 2024
Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Background: Reducing inequalities in women's nutrition and health care can accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goals for maternal and child health. Nutrition interventions for women are delivered through maternal health services such as antenatal care and institutional deliveries, but whether they reach and protect the disadvantaged against malnutrition is not well documented.
Objective: To assess the similarities in socioeconomic disparities and inequalities in the nutritional status and health care of women.
Nucl Med Biol
January 2025
State Research Center-Burnasyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of Federal Medical Biological Agency, 123182 Moscow, Russia. Electronic address:
Introduction: Folate receptors (FR) have been considered a convenient target for different radiopharmaceuticals in recent years. Multifarious Ga-labeled folate conjugates have been proposed as promising agents for the PET imaging of FR-overexpressing malignant neoplasms. In addition, radiolabeled folate-based conjugates can be effective for imaging non-tumor pathological foci characterized by a pronounced cluster of activated macrophages.
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