BMJ  2004;329 (11 December), doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7479.0-b

Folate in pregnancy may need caution

Taking folate supplements in pregnancy could contribute to a greater risk of breast cancer later in life—but this may be a chance finding and needs confirmation. Charles and colleagues (p 1375) followed up 2928 women who had taken part in a randomised controlled trial in the 1960s of low and high doses of folate supplementation in pregnancy versus placebo. By September 2002, 210 of these women had died. Compared with women who had received placebo, in women who had been randomised to high doses of folate, all cause mortality was about a fifth greater, and the risk of deaths attributable to breast cancer was doubled.

Credit: CORDELIA MOLLOY/SPL

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Taking folate in pregnancy and risk of maternal breast cancer

Deborah Charles, Andy R Ness, Doris Campbell, George Davey Smith, and Marion H Hall
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