SynthesisReproductive health2025
Folic acid supplementation in European women of reproductive age and during pregnancy with excessive weight: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Reproductive health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- FIGO good practice recommendations on anemia in pregnancy, to reduce the incidence and impact of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2025Guideline
- Trends, disparities, and socioeconomic inequalities in periconceptional folic acid supplementation in China: a nationwide survey analysis.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Observational
- Review
- Dietary and other lifestyle correlates of serum folate levels among female students at An-Najah National University in Palestine: a cross-sectional study.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- Comments on "Prevalence of neural tube defects and their associated factors in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review".Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery · 2026Article
- Development and Characterization of Refractance Window-DriedFoods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Hidden hunger in Europe: a review on determinants, fragmented policy responses, and implementation barriers.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Does Folic Acid Intake Play Role as a Potential Indicator of Modifiable Maternal Risk Factors in Preconception Period?: A Cross-Sectional Study.Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.)Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveNeural tube defects (NTDs), well-known consequences of folate deficiency, are the second most common cause of serious birth defects, affecting approximately one in a thousand pregnancies in Europe. Maternal folate deficiency before conception and during early pregnancy has been suggested as the most important preventable risk factor for NTDs; thus women should be supplemented before conception with 0.4 mg of folic acid (FA) until the first trimester of gestation. Findings have described a positive association between elevated Body Mass Index (BMI) and birth defect risk; data on plasma folate levels in pregnant women with obesity have shown values lower than recommended because of a state of chronic low-grade inflammation, resulting in increased metabolic demands. Nowadays, disparities exist regarding the recommended dose of FA in women at risk, including women of childbearing age with excessive weight. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to investigate if European childbearing age/pregnant women with overweight/obesity are supplemented according to the current country-specific FA recommendations and whether the dosage of 5 mg recommended for pregnant women with obesity is effective in preventing NTDs.
methodsThe Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. An electronic database search of manuscripts was carried out in Web of Sciences, PubMed and Medline. The quality of the included studies was assessed by using the Quality Assessment for Diverse Studies statement.
resultsOut of 1718 records identified, 8 manuscripts met all the inclusion criteria. Overall, the results showed that pregnant women with obesity adherent to FA recommendations ranged between 4% and 9.5%. Furthermore, the majority (61%) started the supplementation after conception, highlighting that European pregnant women are not particularly adherent to recommendations during the period of greatest need.
conclusionsThe scarce adherence to the current guidelines shows an urgent need to standardize the recommendations across European countries. Particularly, women of childbearing age with excess weight should be monitored assessing serum folate, RBC folate, and homocysteine levels developing tailored supplementation protocols, to counteract the occurrence of NTDs.
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