Research paper
Effect of 3 y of folic acid supplementation on the progression of carotid intima-media thickness and carotid arterial stiffness in older adults.
Study answer
What this study found
Three years of daily folic acid did not slow progression of carotid intima-media thickness or improve carotid arterial stiffness, despite increasing folate levels and lowering homocysteine. In the folic acid arm, the rate of change in CIMT was 1.9 ± 0.9 lm/y versus 1.3 ± 0.8 lm/y with placebo; the mean difference was 0.7 lm/y (95% CI -1.8 to 3.1), P = 0.59. Carotid distensibility also did not differ significantly (P = 0.23). Twelve participants reported side effects attributed to treatment, 5 in the folic acid group and 7 in the placebo group.
- Study & population
- FACIT was an interventional study in 819 men and postmenopausal women aged 50 to 70 years from the Gelderland region of the Netherlands with elevated total homocysteine at screening.
- Intervention
- The active regimen was oral folic acid 800 micrograms daily for 3 years, compared with placebo.
- Key limitation
- The active intervention arm was modest in size (n = 406), and follow-up was limited to 3 years, which may not capture slower vascular effects.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
BACKGROUND Observational studies have shown that low folate and elevated homocysteine concentrations are risk factors for vascular disease in the general population. Randomized controlled trials in vascular patients have failed to show that folic aci…