ReviewEuropean journal of clinical nutrition2016
A review of European guidelines on periconceptional folic acid supplementation.
Review in European journal of clinical nutrition, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 75 citations in OpenAlex.
- Folic acid supplementation during preconception period in sub-Saharan African countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- The Role of Nutrient Supplements in Female Infertility: An Umbrella Review and Hierarchical Evidence Synthesis.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Efficacy of 4.0 mg versus 0.4 mg Folic Acid Supplementation on the Reproductive Outcomes: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- Sociodemographic, pregnancy-related and lifestyle determinants of adherence to Italian dietary guidelines during pregnancy: a cross-sectional study in a representative sample of Italian pregnant women.European journal of nutrition · 2026Article
- Scientific and Public Health Challenges in Folic Acid Supplementation: Insights from Brazil and Global Implications.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Assessment of Maternal Dietary Intake, Physical Activity Status, and Body Composition During Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2025Article
- Folic acid supplementation on congenital heart disease and its dual character.Current research in pharmacology and drug discovery · 2025Review
- Effects of folic acid supplementation before conception on innate immunity and anti-HBs levels of offspring born to HBsAg-positive mothers.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Preconceptional and Periconceptional Folic Acid Supplementation in the Visegrad Group Countries for the Prevention of Neural Tube Defects.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Parental practices that influence children's development: how often are they implemented and by whom-results from the NASCITA birth cohort study.European journal of pediatrics · 2024Article
- Distribution and correlates of plasma folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in a sample of low-income minority children aged 6 months to 9 years in the U.S.Precision nutrition · 2024Article
- Folic acid supplementation use during the peri-conceptional period among professionals of a hospital in France.Preventive medicine reports · 2024Article
- Review
- Preconception care in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence and its correlation with knowledge level among women in the reproductive age group.SAGE open medicine · 2023Article
- An evaluation of adherence to folic acid supplementation in pregnant women during early gestation for the prevention of neural tube defects.Public health nutrition · 2022Observational
- Association between folic acid use during pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus: Two population-based Nordic cohort studies.PloS one · 2022Article
- Impact of maternal nutrition in viral infections during pregnancy.Biochimica et biophysica acta. Molecular basis of disease · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Strong evidence that folic acid (FA) prevents the majority of cases of neural tube defects (NTDs) has led to national organisations developing guidelines for women concerning periconceptional supplementation. In Europe, there is evidence of national variations in the incidence of NTDs, with a recent Irish study reporting an increase in the rate. This review compares the periconceptional FA supplementation guidelines between the different countries in Europe. An online search of country-specific guidelines produced before 2015 concerning periconceptional FA supplementation was conducted. If an English version was not available directly, the EUROCAT register was searched for the English version of the recommendations. We identified national guidelines from 20 European countries. Over half recommended that FA supplements be taken by women planning a pregnancy, but three recommended that they should be taken by all women of child-bearing age. Four guidelines recommended starting FA at least 4 weeks preconceptionally, but no country recommended starting FA at least 12 weeks preconceptionally as suggested by recently published studies. There is a need for further consideration of the duration of preconceptional FA supplementation specifically. The latest scientific evidence in this area should inform the development of European guidelines on FA, as there is wide variation in current recommendations. Overall, the wide variation in national guidelines concerning periconceptional FA supplementation may in part explain the differences in national rates of NTDs reported by EUROCAT. National guidelines on FA supplementation should be standardised across European countries.
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Registered trials
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.