Correlation between folic acid and hemoglobin in pregnant women: cross-sectional study from 2017 to 2019.
Tazla Ingride de Souza Lins, Geyson Alves Marinho, Vitória Caroline Santana Chaves da Silva and 4 others
PMID 41849511WHAT IT FOUND
In 950 pregnant women, folic acid levels were only weakly related to hemoglobin.
Low hemoglobin was associated with more folic acid deficiency, but this cannot show supplementation changed levels.
Key findings
01Most pregnant women had adequate folic acid and hemoglobin levels: 90.9% had folic acid above 5.38 ng/ml and 80.8% had hemoglobin at least 11 g/dL.
02The relationship between folic acid and hemoglobin values across the sample was weak (correlation 0.08).
03Folic acid deficiency was more common in women with hemoglobin <=11 g/dL (13.2%) than in women with hemoglobin >=11 g/dL (8.1%), and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.031).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show that folic acid levels caused changes in hemoglobin or that supplementation improved anemia. The women came from a convenience sample at one referral hospital, and many had higher education, urban residence, and early prenatal care, so results may not apply to less advantaged pregnant women. Folic acid was mostly measured in the second trimester, even though many women started prenatal care early, which may not capture early pregnancy status. The analysis used only simple comparisons and did not adjust for possible confounders such as iron deficiency, pregnancy planning, or preconception supplementation. Only 950 of the original 1,469 women were analysed because both folic acid and hemoglobin results had to be available.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that folic acid supplementation raises hemoglobin or prevents anemia. This study measured existing levels in one group of pregnant women and did not test supplementation, and the overall correlation was weak.