ReviewAdvances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)2019
The Importance of Maternal Folate Status for Brain Development and Function of Offspring.
Review in Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 59 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
59 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 114 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review of Folate and the Human Enteric Microbiome: Biological Mechanisms and Clinical Implications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Pooled it
- Circulating potential biomarkers in polycystic ovary syndrome and gynecologic cancers: Diagnostic insights from a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of ovarian research · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Precision medicine in women with epilepsy: The challenge, systematic review, and future direction.Epilepsy & behavior : E&B · 2021Pooled it
- Maternal Dietary Factors and the Risk of Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review of Existing Evidence.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- The equity and effectiveness of China's 2009 folic acid supplementation programme for long-term child development.Global health action · 2026Article
- Choline and Its Companions: Inter-Related Roles of Choline and B Vitamins in Fetal Development and Offspring Health.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Folic Acid Metabolism and Its Impact on Neurogenesis: Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential.Molecular neurobiology · 2026Review
- Interconnected Developmental Trajectories of the Brain, Gut, and Sleep in Early Life: The First 1000 Days of Nutritional Opportunity.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Article
- Folate in autism neurodevelopment.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Association between maternal folic acid supplementation in different pregnancy and infant neurobehavioral development at 6 and 18 months.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Article
- Article
- Cognitive profile and inflammatory markers in children and adolescents with specific learning disorder: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Cerebral folate deficiency, developmental difficulties in autism spectrum disorder and the role of leucovorin: a narrative review of mechanisms and clinical evidence.Drugs in context · 2026Review
- A new perspective on the association between maternal folic acid supplementation across the perinatal period and cognitive and behavioral outcomes in children at age 4: findings from the MABC birth cohort study.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Cumulative childhood lead exposure estimation and school-age IQ in a prospective birth cohort.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2025Article
- Article
- Substituting animal protein foods with plant protein foods influences vitamin B12 and folate statuses in a multiethnic Asian population.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The importance of an adequate periconceptional maternal folate status to prevent fetal neural tube defects has been well demonstrated and resulted in the recommendation for women to use folic acid supplements during the periconception period. The importance of maternal folate status for offspring neurodevelopment and brain health is less well described. We reviewed the current evidence linking maternal folate status before conception and during pregnancy with neurodevelopment and cognition of the offspring. We discuss both animal and human studies. Preclinical research revealed the importance of maternal folate status for several key processes required for normal neurodevelopment and brain functioning in the offspring, including DNA synthesis, regulation of gene expression, synthesis of phospholipids and neurotransmitters, and maintenance of healthy plasma homocysteine concentrations. Human observational studies are inconclusive; about half have shown a positive association between maternal folate status and cognitive performance of offspring. Whereas some studies suggest a positive association between maternal folate intake and cognition of offspring during childhood, data from interventional studies are too limited to conclude that there is a direct effect. Future preclinical studies are needed to help us characterize the behavioral effects, understand the underlying mechanisms, and to establish an optimal dosage and time window of folate supplementation. Moreover, more conclusive data from well-designed human observational studies and randomized controlled trials are needed to determine whether current recommendations for folic acid supplementation during pregnancy cover the needs for normal cognitive development in the offspring.
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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.