Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36986225›Full record

ArticleNutrients2023

Infants' Folate Markers and Postnatal Growth in the First 4 Months of Life in Relation to Breastmilk and Maternal Plasma Folate.

Rima Obeid, Ines Warnke, Igor Bendik, Barbara Troesch, Rotraut Schoop, Elodie Chenal, Berthold Koletzko, MEFOLIN Study Group

Open access · goldFull text read
In one paragraph

Article in Nutrients, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.7field-weighted citation impact, top 16% 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

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 7 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. NewbornGenes · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Observational
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

8 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.

Rima ObeidDepartment of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, Saarland University Hospital, D-66420 Homburg, Germany.
Ines WarnkeDSM Nutritional Products Ltd., CH-4303 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0001-7739-8115
Igor BendikDSM Nutritional Products Ltd., CH-4303 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland.
Barbara TroeschDSM Nutritional Products Ltd., CH-4303 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland.
Rotraut SchoopDSM Nutritional Products Ltd., CH-4303 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland.
Elodie ChenalDSM Nutritional Products Ltd., CH-4303 Kaiseraugst, Switzerland.
Berthold KoletzkoDepartment of Paediatrics, The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital and LUM University Hospitals, D-80337 Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5345-7165
MEFOLIN Study Group
DSM (Switzerland) · CHDepartment of Physics, Mathematics and Informatics · BYSaarland University · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHuman milk is the sole source of folate in exclusively breastfed infants. We investigated whether human milk folate or maternal plasma folate are associated with infants' folate status and postnatal growth in the first 4 months of life.

methodsExclusively breastfed infants (n = 120) were recruited at age < 1 month (baseline). Blood samples were available at baseline and at the age of 4 months. Plasma and breastmilk samples were available from the mothers at 8 weeks postpartum. The concentrations of (6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) and different folate status markers were measured in samples of the infants and their mothers. The z-scores of weight, height, and head circumference of the infants were measured five times between baseline and 4 months.

resultsWomen with 5-MTHF concentrations in breastmilk <39.9 nmol/L (median) had higher plasma 5-MTHF compared to those with milk 5-MTHF concentrations >39.9 nmol/L (mean (SD) plasma 5-MTHF = 23.3 (16.5) vs. 16.6 (11.9) nmol/L;

conclusionsHigher 5-MTHF in breastmilk was associated with higher folate status in the infants and the depletion of folate in maternal circulation. No associations were seen between maternal or breastmilk folate and infants' anthropometrics. Adaptive mechanisms might counteract the effect of low milk folate on infant development.

Indexed as

Folic AcidMilk, HumanBreast FeedingChildFemaleHumansInfantMothersPostpartum PeriodFolic Acid(6S)-5-methyltetrahydrofolatebreastfeedingbreastmilkfolate catabolisminfant nutritionlactation

Identifiers

PMID36986225
PMCPMC10051157
OpenAlexW4328110729

What OpenQuestion holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
measurements read25
identifiers read1
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.