The effect of folic acid supplementation on serum homocysteine of egyptian post menopausal women: A randomized controlled trial

Objective: To evaluate the effect of folic acid supplementation on serum homocysteine (HCY) level in Egyptian post-menopausal women. Patients and methods: The current randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Ain Shams University Maternity Hospital, Cairo, Egypt. 100 included women were divided into three groups: group C; 20 premenopausal women while the rest 80 women were postmenopausal (who were randomly divided into two groups; group A who received 5 mg folic acid for 6 weeks and group B who received placebo). Blood samples were collected from 100 women. Other samples were collected from 80 women (postmenopausal) 6 weeks after treatment. Serum was analyzed for HCY. Results: Serum HCY was significantly higher in postmenopausal than premenopausal women (14.7 ± 6.4 μmol/L versus 6.3 ± 1.4 μmol/L, in group A and group C, respectively) and (15.3 ± 5.4 μmol/L versus 6.3 ± 1.4 μmol/L, in group B and group C, respectively). HCY was significantly reduced in postmenopausal women after receiving folic acid (14.7 ± 6.4 μmol/L versus 12.4 ± 6.4 μmol/L, before and after treatment, respectively), while there was a decrease in serum HCY level of postmenopausal women after receiving placebo but not to reach a statistical significant level (15.3 ± 5.4 μmol/L versus 14.9 ± 7.6 μmol/L, before and after placebo, respectively). There was a statistical significant reduction in serum HCY in group A after receiving 5 mg folic acid compared to group B after receiving placebo (12.4 ± 6.4 μmol/L versus 14.9 ± 7.6 μmol/L, respectively). Conclusion: Serum HCY level was significantly higher in Egyptian postmenopausal than premenopausal women. Postmenopausal Folic acid supplementation seems to reduce serum HCY, but not to premenopausal level.