Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31849592›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in neuroscience2019

Folic Acid and Risk of Preterm Birth: A Meta-Analysis.

Bingbing Li, Xiaoli Zhang, Xirui Peng, Shan Zhang, Xiaoyang Wang, Changlian Zhu

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in neuroscience, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed
4.0field-weighted citation impact, top 6% 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

31 citing papers in PubMed, 59 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. Preconceptual care reduces risk of spontaneous preterm birth for select high-risk populations: A prospective study.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026
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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

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Bingbing LiHenan Key Laboratory of Child Brain Injury, Third Affiliated Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Xiaoli ZhangHenan Key Laboratory of Child Brain Injury, Third Affiliated Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Xirui PengHenan Key Laboratory of Child Brain Injury, Third Affiliated Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Shan ZhangHenan Key Laboratory of Child Brain Injury, Third Affiliated Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Xiaoyang WangHenan Key Laboratory of Child Brain Injury, Third Affiliated Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Changlian ZhuHenan Key Laboratory of Child Brain Injury, Third Affiliated Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University · CNUniversity of Gothenburg · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The results from epidemiologic studies linking blood folate concentrations, folic acid supplementation, or dietary folate to the risk of preterm birth are inconsistent. In this study, we aimed to summarize the available evidence on these associations. A systematic search of the PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases up to October 20, 2018 was performed and reference lists of retrieved articles were screened. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the highest vs. the lowest levels of folate concentrations, folic acid supplementation, and dietary folate were calculated using random-effects models. Subgroup analyses and univariate meta-regression were performed to explore the sources of heterogeneity. Ten studies (six prospective cohort studies and four case-control studies) were included on folate concentrations, 13 cohort studies were included about folic acid supplementation, and 4 cohort studies were included regarding dietary folate intake. Higher maternal folate levels were associated with a 28% reduction in the risk of preterm birth (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.56-0.93). Higher folic acid supplementation was associated with 10% lower risk of preterm birth (OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.85-0.95). In addition, a significant negative association was observed between dietary folate intake and the risk of preterm birth (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.55-0.84), but no significant relation was seen between dietary folate and the risk of spontaneous preterm birth (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.57-1.41). In the subgroup analysis, higher maternal folate levels in the third trimester were associated with a lower risk of preterm birth (OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.36-0.94). To initiate taking folic acid supplementation early before conception was adversely associated with preterm birth risk (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.83-0.95). In conclusion, higher maternal folate levels and folic acid supplementation were significantly associated with a lower risk of preterm birth. The limited data currently available suggest that dietary folate is associated with a significantly decreased risk of preterm birth.

Indexed as

dietary folate intakefolate levelsfolic acid supplementationmeta-analysispreterm birthpreterm brain injurysequelae of preterm birth

Identifiers

PMID31849592
PMCPMC6892975
OpenAlexW2990418968

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.