Lee Swanson Research Update

Folic Acid Supplementation Helps Reduce Risk of Stroke

June 2007

"Our findings indicate that folic acid supplementation can effectively reduce the risk of stroke in primary prevention," research scientists at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago reported in a study published in The Lancet.

Researchers initiated a review of previously performed randomized trials to assess the efficacy of folic acid supplementation in the prevention of stroke. "We collected data from eight randomized trials of folic acid that had stroke reported as one of the endpoints," researchers said. What they found was that folic acid supplementation reduced the risk of stroke by an average of 18%.

Researchers also found that greater risk reduction was noted when treatment lasted more than 36 months (29% lower risk); when homocysteine levels were reduced by more than 20% (23% lower risk), or if a patient had no previous history of stroke (25% lower risk). In regions that did not already have supplementation via fortified foods, the introduction of folic acid supplementation reduced stroke by 25%.

"Our meta-analysis provides coherent evidence that folic acid supplementation can reduce the risk of stroke in primary prevention," the study authors wrote.

The Lancet 369(9576):1876-1882, 2007

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