Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32032459›Full record

SynthesisMolecular nutrition & food research2020

Paternal Folate Status and Sperm Quality, Pregnancy Outcomes, and Epigenetics: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Jeffrey Hoek, Régine P M Steegers-Theunissen, Sten P Willemsen, Sam Schoenmakers

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Molecular nutrition & food research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
26citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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

26 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Pooled it
  4. The Preconception Health and Health Behaviors of Australian First-Time Fathers: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education · 2026
    Article
  5. Nutritional modulation of male fertility: a molecular-focused scoping review.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 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

4 authors.

Jeffrey HoekDepartment Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, 3015GD, The Netherlands.
Régine P M Steegers-TheunissenDepartment Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, 3015GD, The Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-4353-5756
Sten P WillemsenDepartment Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, 3015GD, The Netherlands.
Sam SchoenmakersDepartment Obstetrics and Gynecology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, 3015GD, The Netherlands.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

scopeThe effectiveness of maternal folate in reducing the risk of congenital malformations during pregnancy is well established. However, the role of the paternal folate status is scarcely investigated. The aim of this study is to investigate the evidence of associations between the paternal folate status and sperm quality, sperm epigenome, and pregnancy outcomes. METHODS AND

resultsDatabases are searched up to December 2017 resulting in 3682 articles, of which 23 are retrieved for full-text assessment. Four out of thirteen human and two out of four animal studies show positive associations between folate concentrations and sperm parameters. An additional meta-analysis of four randomized controlled trials in subfertile men shows that the sperm concentration increases (3.54 95% confidence interval (CI) [-1.40 to 8.48]) after 3-6 months of 5 mg folic acid use per day compared to controls. Moreover, two out of two animal and one out of three human studies show significant alterations in the overall methylation of the sperm epigenome. One animal and one human study show associations between low folate intake and an increased risk of congenital malformations.

conclusionsThis systematic review and meta-analysis shows evidence of associations between paternal folate status and sperm quality, fertility, congenital malformations, and placental weight.

Indexed as

Pregnancy OutcomeAnimalsDietary SupplementsEpigenesis, GeneticFemaleFolic AcidHumansMalePregnancySpermatozoaFolic Acidcongenital malformationsepigeneticsfertilityfolatefolic acid supplementsplacentasperm quality

Identifiers

PMID32032459
PMCPMC7317557

What OpenQuestion holds

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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.