Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33750355›Full record

Trial reportBMC medicine2021

Effects of maternal folic acid supplementation during the second and third trimesters of pregnancy on neurocognitive development in the child: an 11-year follow-up from a randomised controlled trial.

Aoife Caffrey, Helene McNulty, Mark Rollins, Girijesh Prasad, Pramod Gaur, Joel B Talcott, Caroline Witton, Tony Cassidy, Barry Marshall, James Dornan and 8 more

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

Trial report in BMC medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
47citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
9.0field-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

47 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.

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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

18 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Aoife CaffreyNutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE), School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, Northern Ireland, UK.
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, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
Girijesh PrasadIntelligent Systems Research Centre, Ulster University, Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK.
Pramod GaurIntelligent Systems Research Centre, Ulster University, Derry~Londonderry, Northern Ireland, UK.
Joel B TalcottInstitute of Health and Neurodevelopment, College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
Caroline WittonInstitute of Health and Neurodevelopment, College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK.
Tony CassidyPsychology Research Institute, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
Barry MarshallNorthern Health and Social Care Trust, Causeway Hospital, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
James DornanRoyal-Jubilee Maternity Service, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Adrian J MooreSchool of Environmental Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
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, Ireland.
Marian McLaughlinPsychology Research Institute, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
Diane J Lees-MurdockGenomics Medicine Research Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UK.
Colum P WalshGenomics Medicine Research Group, School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Coleraine, 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 · GBAston University · GBNorthern Health and Social Care Trust · GBRoyal Jubilee Maternity Services · GBTrinity College Dublin · IE

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council BB/S020330/1Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council ES/N000323/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMaternal folic acid (FA) supplementation before and in early pregnancy prevents neural tube defects (NTD), but it is uncertain whether continuing FA after the first trimester has benefits on offspring health. We aimed to evaluate the effect of FA supplementation throughout pregnancy on cognitive performance and brain function in the child.

methodsFollow-up investigation of 11-year-old children, residing in Northern Ireland, whose mothers had participated in a randomised trial of Folic Acid Supplementation in the Second and Third Trimesters (FASSTT) in pregnancy and received 400 μg/day FA or placebo from the 14th gestational week. Cognitive performance (Full Scale Intelligence Quotient, Verbal Comprehension, Working Memory, Perceptual Reasoning, and Processing Speed) was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. Neuronal function was assessed using magnetoencephalographic (MEG) brain imaging.

resultsOf 119 mother-child pairs in the FASSTT trial, 68 children were assessed for neurocognitive performance at 11-year follow-up (Dec 2017 to Nov 2018). Children of mothers randomised to FA compared with placebo scored significantly higher in two Processing Speed tests, i.e. symbol search (mean difference 2.9 points, 95% CI 0.3 to 5.5, p = 0.03) and cancellation (11.3 points, 2.5 to 20.1, p = 0.04), whereas the positive effect on Verbal Comprehension was significant in girls only (6.5 points, 1.2 to 11.8, p = 0.03). MEG assessment of neuronal responses to a language task showed increased power at the Beta (13-30 Hz, p = 0.01) and High Gamma (49-70 Hz, p = 0.04) bands in children from FA-supplemented mothers, suggesting more efficient semantic processing of language.

conclusionsContinued FA supplementation in pregnancy beyond the early period currently recommended to prevent NTD can benefit neurocognitive development of the child. MEG provides a non-invasive tool in paediatric research to objectively assess functional brain activity in response to nutrition and other interventions.

trial registrationISRCTN ISRCTN19917787 . Registered on 15 May 2013.

Indexed as

Child DevelopmentCognitionDietary SupplementsFolic AcidPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsCesarean SectionChildFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansMalePregnancyPregnancy Trimester, ThirdFolic AcidChild cognitionMagnetoencephalographic brain imagingNeuronal functionPregnancyPrenatal folic acidRandomised controlled trialWechsler Intelligence Scale for Children

Identifiers

PMID33750355
PMCPMC7945668
OpenAlexW3126980541

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.