Fei Ma1, Tianfeng Wu2, Jiangang Zhao3, Fengmei Han3, Anna Marseglia4, Huan Liu2, Guowei Huang5. 1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and. 2. Department of Nutrition and Food Science, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, China. 3. Community Health Service Center, Tianjin, China. 4. Aging Research Center, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm University, Sweden. 5. Department of Nutrition and Food Science, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, China. huangguowei@tmu.edu.cn.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: This study is to examine the effects of folic acid supplementation on cognitive function in Chinese older adults with mild cognitive impairment who are unexposed tofolic acid fortification and assess cognitive functioning in relation to folate, homocysteine, and vitamin B12 values at baseline. METHODS: This was a single-center, randomized, controlled trial in Tianjin, China; 180 individuals aged 65 years and older who had mild cognitive impairment were assigned randomly to one of two groups: (a) those treated with oral folic acid (400 µg/day) and (b) those treated via conventional treatment. Tests of cognitive performance and biomarkers were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. Changes in cognitive or clinical function were analyzed by repeated-measure analysis of variance or mixed-effects models. This trial has been registered with the trial number ChiCTR-TRC-13003227. RESULTS:Total of 159 participants (intervention group: 80; control group: 79) completed the trial. Repeated-measure analysis of variance showed significant improvements in serum folate (ηp (2) = 0.712, p = .009), homocysteine (ηp (2) = 0.119, p = .017), serum vitamin B12 (ηp (2) = 0.144, p = .022), and S-adenosylmethionine (ηp (2) = 0.117, p = .033) in the intervention group over the control group. Folic acid supplementation improved Full Scale IQ (p = .031; effect size d = 0.168), Digit Span (p = .009; d = 0.176), and Block Design (p = .036; effect size d = 0.146) scores at 6 months in comparison to the control. There were no significant findings for all other cognitive measures. CONCLUSION: There was a beneficial effect from relatively short-term folate supplementation on cognitive functioning in later life. Larger-scale, randomized, controlled trials of longer duration in selected age groups are needed.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: This study is to examine the effects of folic acid supplementation on cognitive function in Chinese older adults with mild cognitive impairment who are unexposed to folic acid fortification and assess cognitive functioning in relation to folate, homocysteine, and vitamin B12 values at baseline. METHODS: This was a single-center, randomized, controlled trial in Tianjin, China; 180 individuals aged 65 years and older who had mild cognitive impairment were assigned randomly to one of two groups: (a) those treated with oral folic acid (400 µg/day) and (b) those treated via conventional treatment. Tests of cognitive performance and biomarkers were measured at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. Analysis was by intention-to-treat. Changes in cognitive or clinical function were analyzed by repeated-measure analysis of variance or mixed-effects models. This trial has been registered with the trial number ChiCTR-TRC-13003227. RESULTS: Total of 159 participants (intervention group: 80; control group: 79) completed the trial. Repeated-measure analysis of variance showed significant improvements in serum folate (ηp (2) = 0.712, p = .009), homocysteine (ηp (2) = 0.119, p = .017), serum vitamin B12 (ηp (2) = 0.144, p = .022), and S-adenosylmethionine (ηp (2) = 0.117, p = .033) in the intervention group over the control group. Folic acid supplementation improved Full Scale IQ (p = .031; effect size d = 0.168), Digit Span (p = .009; d = 0.176), and Block Design (p = .036; effect size d = 0.146) scores at 6 months in comparison to the control. There were no significant findings for all other cognitive measures. CONCLUSION: There was a beneficial effect from relatively short-term folate supplementation on cognitive functioning in later life. Larger-scale, randomized, controlled trials of longer duration in selected age groups are needed.
Authors: Andrea M McGrattan; Claire T McEvoy; Bernadette McGuinness; Michelle C McKinley; Jayne V Woodside Journal: Br J Nutr Date: 2018-11-09 Impact factor: 3.718
Authors: Nuno Mendonça; Carol Jagger; Antoneta Granic; Carmen Martin-Ruiz; John C Mathers; Chris J Seal; Tom R Hill Journal: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci Date: 2018-08-10 Impact factor: 6.053
Authors: Jenny McCleery; Rajesh P Abraham; David A Denton; Anne Ws Rutjes; Lee-Yee Chong; Aalya S Al-Assaf; Daniel J Griffith; Shireen Rafeeq; Hakan Yaman; Muzaffar A Malik; Marcello Di Nisio; Gabriel Martínez; Robin Wm Vernooij; Naji Tabet Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2018-11-01