Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25687545›Full record

SynthesisScientific reports2015

Maternal folic acid supplementation and the risk of congenital heart defects in offspring: a meta-analysis of epidemiological observational studies.

Yu Feng, Song Wang, Runsen Chen, Xing Tong, Zeyu Wu, Xuming Mo

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Scientific reports, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
71citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
9.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

71 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 131 citations in OpenAlex.

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11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Yu FengDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Song WangDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Runsen ChenDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Xing TongAtherosclerosis Research Center, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease and Molecular Intervention, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Zeyu WuDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Xuming MoDepartment of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The Affiliated Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University · CNNanjing Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Epidemiological studies have reported conflicting results regarding the association between maternal folic acid supplementation and the risk of congenital heart defects (CHDs). However, a meta-analysis of the association between maternal folic acid supplementation and CHDs in offspring has not been conducted. We searched the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases for articles cataloged between their inceptions and October 10, 2014 and identified relevant published studies that assessed the association between maternal folate supplementation and the risk of CHDs. Study-specific relative risk estimates were pooled using random-effects or fixed-effects models. Out of the 1,606 articles found in our initial literature searches, a total of 1 randomized controlled trial, 1 cohort study, and 16 case-control studies were included in our final meta-analysis. The overall results of this meta-analysis provide evidence that maternal folate supplementation is associated with a significantly decreased risk of CHDs (RR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.63-0.82). Statistically significant heterogeneity was detected (Q = 82.48, P < 0.001, I(2) = 79.4%). We conducted stratified and meta-regression analyses to identify the origin of the heterogeneity among the studies, and a Galbraith plot was generated to graphically assess the sources of heterogeneity. This meta-analysis provides a robust estimate of the positive association between maternal folate supplementation and a decreased risk of CHDs.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsMaternal ExposurePrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsFemaleFolic AcidHeart Defects, CongenitalHumansOdds RatioPregnancyRiskFolic Acid

Identifiers

PMID25687545
PMCPMC4330542
OpenAlexW2048925478

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.