Effects of folate supplementation on recurrence and metabolic status of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3 in overweight and obese women: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial

Study answer

What this study found

Folate supplementation did not significantly reduce CIN2/3 recurrence over 12 weeks, but it improved several metabolic and inflammatory markers. Recurrence was 3.3% in the folate group versus 16.7% with placebo (P = 0.08). Folate lowered insulin, HOMA-IR, and hs-CRP and increased QUICKI and total antioxidant capacity; for example, insulin changed from 13.7 ± 3.4 to 10.8 ± 4.6 µIU/mL, HOMA-IR from 2.9 ± 0.8 to 2.2 ± 1.0, QUICKI from 0.32 ± 0.01 to 0.33 ± 0.01, and TAC from 869.8 ± 141.9 to 981.9 ± 190.9 mmol/L. Homocysteine also fell significantly, while most lipid and glucose measures did…

Study & population

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in overweight or obese folate-deficient women with pathologically confirmed CIN2/3 in Kashan, Iran.

Intervention

Folate supplementation was given as folic acid 5 mg/day orally once daily for 12 weeks, compared with placebo.

Key limitation

The trial was small and short, limiting power to detect a difference in CIN2/3 recurrence.

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Original abstract