Effect of High Dose Folic Acid Supplementation on the Prevention of Pre-Eclampsia in Pregnancy with Hypertension

Hongxia Luo, Honglian Ma and Youxin Wang

Background and Objective: Pre-eclampsia is a very dangerous pregnancy condition that significantly elevates the possibility of early mortality for both the mother and the infant. The purpose of the experiment was to investigate the contradictory evidence about whether folic acid may decrease the incidence of pre-eclampsia. Materials and Methods: As 1500 pregnant women were randomly selected for the clinical investigation. The 750 women were assigned to the folic acid and placebo groups. From randomization (8 to 16 weeks) until delivery, group 1 got 4 mg of folic acid and group 2 received a placebo daily. Participants were examined for <50, 50-75 and >75% compliance levels. The 4 follow-ups were scheduled: 24-26, 34-36, post-birth and 42 days post-partum. The research sought to quantify pre-eclampsia rates. Secondary outcome assessments were early preterm delivery, stillbirth, neonatal death, perinatal mortality, early-onset sepsis and NICU hospitalisation for 24 hrs or more. Results: The study found that the occurrence of pre-eclampsia was comparatively lower in the folic acid group than in the placebo group (5.3 vs. 10%), with a risk ratio (RR) of 0.53 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.53 to 0.79. Furthermore, the occurrence of secondary outcomes was decreased in the folic acid group in comparison to the placebo group. Conclusion: The study findings provide evidence that high-dose folic acid intake can be an effective preventive measure for pre-eclampsia in pregnant women with hypertension.

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