ReviewHeliyon2023
Effects of folic acid and folic acid plus zinc supplements on the sperm characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of infertile men: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Review in Heliyon, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmacologic and Nutritional Therapies in Idiopathic Male Infertility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Andrology · 2026Pooled it
- Article
- The critical role of oxidative stress in male infertility: causes, diagnostic biomarkers, and the efficacy of antioxidant therapy.Molecular biology reports · 2026Review
- Zinc as a Modulator of Male Fertility: Interplay Between Lipid Metabolism, Oxidative Stress, and Sperm Function.Biological trace element research · 2025Review
- The Role of Antioxidants in Male Fertility: A Comprehensive Review of Mechanisms and Clinical Applications.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Association Between Zinc Levels and the Impact of Its Deficiency on Idiopathic Male Infertility: An Up-to-Date Review.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Folic acid and sperm quality improvement: insights from snRNA sequencing and RNA splicing mechanisms.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Article
- The Impact of Parental Preconception Nutrition, Body Weight, and Exercise Habits on Offspring Health Outcomes: A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2024Review
- Micronutrient Antioxidants for Men (MenevitAntioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A Dietary Supplement Jinghuosu Ameliorates Reproductive Damage Induced by Tripterygium Glycosides.Chinese journal of integrative medicine · 2024Article
- Effect of Micronutrients and L-Carnitine as Antioxidant on Sperm Parameters, Genome Integrity, and ICSI Outcomes: Randomized, Double-Blind, and Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Oxidative stress affects sperm health and fertility-Time to apply facts learned at the bench to help the patient: Lessons for busy clinicians.Reproductive medicine and biologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Folic acid and zinc supplements have been used to treat male infertility, but their efficacy is still debated. Objective: To systematically evaluate the effects of folic acid and folic acid plus zinc supplements on sperm characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of infertile men. Methods: An online systematic search was performed using PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases from inception to August 1, 2022. The goal was to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that used folic acid or folic acid plus zinc to improve sperm characteristics of infertile men. Data were extracted by two investigators who independently screened the literature and assessed for quality according to the criteria. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.4 software. Results: A total of 8 RCT studies involving 2168 patients were included. The results showed that compared with the controls, folic acid significantly increased sperm motility (MD, 3.63; 95% CI, -1.22 to 6.05; Conclusions: Based on the meta-analysis, no significant improvements in sperm characteristics with folic acid plus zinc supplements were seen. However, folic acid alone has demonstrated the potential to improve sperm motility and in vitro fertilization-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF-ICSI) outcomes. This indicates that folic acid supplements alone may be a viable treatment option for male infertility.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.