Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31672132›Full record

Trial reportBMC medicine2019

Effect of continued folic acid supplementation beyond the first trimester of pregnancy on cognitive performance in the child: a follow-up study from a randomized controlled trial (FASSTT Offspring Trial).

Helene McNulty, Mark Rollins, Tony Cassidy, Aoife Caffrey, Barry Marshall, James Dornan, Marian McLaughlin, Breige A McNulty, Mary Ward, J J Strain and 4 more

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC medicine, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
49citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
8.7field-weighted citation impact, top 2% 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

49 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 102 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  15. Epilepsy in women of childbearing age: a focused review.Neurological research and practice · 2025
    Review
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  19. Effects of Gender Differences inInternational journal of genomics · 2025
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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

14 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Helene McNultyNutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK.
Mark RollinsNorthern Health and Social Care Trust, Causeway Hospital, Northern Ireland, UK.
Tony CassidyPsychology Research Institute, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK.
Aoife CaffreyNutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK.
Barry MarshallNorthern Health and Social Care Trust, Causeway Hospital, Northern Ireland, UK.
James DornanRoyal-Jubilee Maternity Service, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Marian McLaughlinPsychology Research Institute, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK.
Breige A McNultyInstitute of Food and Health, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Mary WardNutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK.
J J StrainNutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK.
Anne M MolloySchool of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Diane J Lees-MurdockGenomic Medicine Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK.
Colum P WalshGenomic Medicine Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Northern Ireland, UK.
Kristina PentievaNutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK. k.pentieva@ulster.ac.uk.
University of Ulster · GBNorthern Health and Social Care Trust · GBRoyal Jubilee Maternity Services · GBTrinity College Dublin · IEUniversity College Dublin · IE

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPericonceptional folic acid prevents neural tube defects (NTDs), but it is uncertain whether there are benefits for offspring neurodevelopment arising from continued maternal folic acid supplementation beyond the first trimester. We investigated the effect of folic acid supplementation during trimesters 2 and 3 of pregnancy on cognitive performance in the child.

methodsWe followed up the children of mothers who had participated in a randomized controlled trial in 2006/2007 of Folic Acid Supplementation during the Second and Third Trimesters (FASSTT) and received 400 μg/d folic acid or placebo from the 14th gestational week until the end of pregnancy. Cognitive performance of children at 7 years was evaluated using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-III) and at 3 years using the Bayley's Scale of Infant and Toddler Development (BSITD-III).

resultsFrom a total of 119 potential mother-child pairs, 70 children completed the assessment at age 7 years, and 39 at age 3 years. At 7 years, the children of folic acid treated mothers scored significantly higher than the placebo group in word reasoning: mean 13.3 (95% CI 12.4-14.2) versus 11.9 (95% CI 11.0-12.8); p = 0.027; at 3 years, they scored significantly higher in cognition: 10.3 (95% CI 9.3-11.3) versus 9.5 (95% CI 8.8-10.2); p = 0.040. At both time points, greater proportions of children from folic acid treated mothers compared with placebo had cognitive scores above the median values of 10 (girls and boys) for the BSITD-III, and 24.5 (girls) and 21.5 (boys) for the WPPSI-III tests. When compared with a nationally representative sample of British children at 7 years, WPPSI-III test scores were higher in children from folic acid treated mothers for verbal IQ (p < 0.001), performance IQ (p = 0.035), general language (p = 0.002), and full scale IQ (p = 0.001), whereas comparison of the placebo group with British children showed smaller differences in scores for verbal IQ (p = 0.034) and full scale IQ (p = 0.017) and no differences for performance IQ or general language.

conclusionsContinued folic acid supplementation in pregnancy beyond the early period recommended to prevent NTD may have beneficial effects on child cognitive development. Further randomized trials in pregnancy with follow-up in childhood are warranted.

trial registrationISRCTN ISRCTN19917787 . Registered 15 May 2013.

Indexed as

Dietary SupplementsChildChild DevelopmentChild, PreschoolCognitionFemaleFolic AcidFollow-Up StudiesGestational AgeHumansMalePregnancyPregnancy Trimester, FirstPregnancy Trimester, SecondPregnancy Trimester, ThirdFolic AcidChildCognitive performancePregnancyPrenatal folic acidPublic healthRandomized controlled trialWechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence

Identifiers

PMID31672132
PMCPMC6823954
OpenAlexW2979477346

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.