Folate status and homocysteine response to folic acid doses and withdrawal among young Chinese women in a large-scale randomized double-blind trial.

Study answer

What this study found

Overall, folate and homocysteine responses were driven by total folic acid intake rather than whether the dose was given once daily or in divided doses. At 3 months, plasma folate increased by 108% in the 100 µg/day group, 259% in the 400 µg/day group, 460% in the 4000 µg/day group, and 142% in the 4000 µg/week group. At 6 months, RBC folate rose by 27.7%, 71.8%, 137%, and 45.7%, respectively, showing a slower and more gradual response than plasma folate. Homocysteine fell by about 4% with 100 µg/day, 17% with 400 µg/day, and up to about 22% with 4000 µg/day. After folic acid stopped, plasma…

Study & population

Randomized, double-blind trial in healthy young Chinese women from Xianghe County, Hebei Province, northern China.

Intervention

Six oral folic acid regimens were tested for 6 months in a double-blind randomized design: 25 µg four times daily, 100 µg once daily, 100 µg four times daily, 400 µg once daily, 4000 µg once daily, and 4000 µg once weekly.

Key limitation

The trial was conducted in a specific group of healthy, nonpregnant Chinese women, which limits generalizability.

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Original abstract