Folate and risk of cardiovascular disease

doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7397.1035/a

BMJ 2003;326:1035 ( 10 May )

Letters

Folate and risk of cardiovascular disease

Study results were misinterpreted

Authors' reply

Study results were misinterpreted

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR $---$ Hung et al conclude that their cohort study on serum folate and coronary heart disease provides evidence against theview that folic acid prevents coronary heart disease.¹ We disagreeand believe they have misinterpreted theirresults.

A meta-analysis of studies on homocysteine and cardiovascular disease, supported by others,^2-4 together with randomised trialevidence on folic acid dose and serum homocysteine reduction,shows that the maximal homocysteine lowering effect of folic acidoccurs at a dose of about 0.8 mg/day (which increases serum folateby 20 µg/l).⁵ This homocysteine reduction lowers the risk ofcoronary heart disease by about 16%. The difference in averageserum folate between the highest and the lowest folate group inthe cohort study of Hung et al was about 7 µg/l, since the medianof the highest folate group was about 8 µg/l (the 93rd centilewas stated as 9 µg/l, so the 85th centile must have been less. . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Articles

Folate and vitamin B-12 and risk of fatal cardiovascular disease: cohort study from Busselton, Western Australia: Joseph Hung, John P Beilby, Matthew W Knuiman, and Mark Divitini
BMJ 2003 326: 131. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Homocysteine and cardiovascular disease: evidence on causality from a meta-analysis: David S Wald, Malcolm Law, and Joan K Morris
BMJ 2002 325: 1202-1206. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]