Impact of high-dose folic acid supplementation in pregnancy on biomarkers of folate status and 1-carbon metabolism: An ancillary study of the Folic Acid Clinical Trial (FACT).

Background Periconceptional folic acid (FA) supplementation is recommended to prevent the occurrence of neural tube defects. Currently, most over-the-counter FA supplements in Canada and the United States contain 1 mg FA and some women are prescribed 5 mg FA/d. High-dose FA is hypothesized to impair 1-carbon metabolism. We aimed to determine folate and 1-carbon metabolism biomarkers in pregnant women exposed to 1 mg or 5 mg FA. Objectives This was an ancillary study within the Folic Acid Clinical Trial (FACT), a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, phase III trial designed to assess the efficacy of high-dose FA to prevent preeclampsia. Methods For FACT, women were randomized at 8–16 gestational weeks to receive daily 4.0 mg FA (high dose) or placebo (low dose) plus their usual supplementation (≤1.1 mg). Women were recruited from 3 Canadian FACT centers and provided nonfasting blood samples at 24–26 gestational weeks for measurement of RBC and serum total folate, serum unmetabolized FA (UMFA), tetrahydrofolate (THF), 5-methylTHF, 5-formylTHF, 5,10-methenylTHF, and MeFox (pyrazino-s-triazine derivative of 4α-hydroxy-5-methylTHF, a 5-methylTHF oxidation product); total vitamins B-12 and B-6; and plasma total homocysteine. Group differences were determined using χ², Fisher exact, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests. Results Nineteen (38%) women received high-dose FA and 31 (62%) received low-dose FA. The median RBC folate concentration was 2701 (IQR: 2243–3032) nmol/L and did not differ between groups. The high-dose group had higher serum total folate (median: 148.4 nmol/L, IQR: 110.4–181.2; P  = 0.007), UMFA (median: 4.6 nmol/L, IQR: 2.5–33.8; P  = 0.008), and 5-methylTHF (median: 126.6 nmol/L, IQR: 98.8–158.6; P  = 0.03) compared with the low-dose group (median: 122.8 nmol/L, IQR: 99.5–136.0; median: 1.9 nmol/L, IQR: 0.9–4.1; median: 108.6 nmol/L, IQR: 96.4–123.2, respectively). Other biomarkers of 1-carbon metabolism did not differ. Conclusions High-dose FA supplementation in early pregnancy increases maternal serum folate but not RBC folate concentrations, suggesting tissue saturation. Higher UMFA concentrations in women receiving high-dose FA supplements suggest that these doses are supraphysiologic but with no evidence of altered 1-carbon metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]