The effects of folic acid supplements on coagulation status in pregnancy
2004; Wiley; Volume: 127; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1111/j.1365-2141.2004.05172.x
ISSN1365-2141
AutoresParamjeet Deol, Tim A. Barnes, Karen Dampier, John Pasi, Christina Oppenheimer, Sue Pavord,
Tópico(s)Folate and B Vitamins Research
ResumoThromboembolic disease remains the leading cause of maternal death in the UK. Recent literature has proposed that folate status is a strong predictor for venous thrombosis. Using thrombelastography (TEG((R))), we tested the hypothesis that folic acid supplementation is associated with a reduction in whole blood coagulability. Blood samples and questionnaire data were obtained at a mean gestation of 13.6 weeks (SD: 3.8, range: 6-38 weeks) from unselected consecutive women attending for their antenatal booking scan. Of 588 patients, 439 (74.7%) took folic acid. All TEG((R)) parameters were less hypercoagulable in women that had taken folic acid compared with those that had not: mean maximum amplitude (MA) 60.3 versus 62.1; mean difference 1.8; 95% confidence interval 0.8, 2.8; P = 0.0001; mean coagulation index (CI) 0.54 versus 0.85; mean difference 0.31; 95% confidence interval 0.11, 0.5; P = 0.002. There was no difference in the incidence of the homozygous MTHFR mutation in patients taking folic acid (5.53%) compared with those that were not (4.08%). This study suggests that benefit may be derived from longer-term treatment, although large multicentre studies are required to determine whether the relative hypocoagulability is associated with a reduction in risk of venous thrombosis.
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