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The pregnancy-related decrease in fasting plasma homocysteine is not explained by folic acid supplementation,

Michelle M Murphy1, John M Scott, Joseph M McPartlin

  • 1Unit of Preventive Medicine, Rovira i Virgili University, Reus, Spain. mm@fmcs.urv.es

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|August 29, 2002
PubMed
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Pregnancy lowers fasting total homocysteine (tHcy) levels, but not due to folic acid, hemodilution, or albumin changes. This longitudinal study suggests other factors, possibly endocrine, influence pregnancy tHcy reduction.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Physiology
  • Obstetrics

Background:

  • Fasting plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels decrease during pregnancy.
  • Previous hypotheses involving folic acid supplementation, hemodilution, or decreased albumin have not been longitudinally validated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the relationship between pregnancy-related physiological changes and tHcy levels.
  • To examine these changes in healthy women, with and without folic acid supplementation.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study tracked 54 unsupplemented and 39 folic acid-supplemented women from preconception through pregnancy.
  • Measurements of tHcy, hematocrit, and serum albumin were taken preconceptionally and at 8, 20, and 32 weeks of gestation.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Geometric mean tHcy significantly decreased from preconception levels throughout pregnancy in all participants.
  • Reductions in tHcy were significantly greater than concurrent changes in hematocrit or serum albumin.
  • No correlation was found between changes in hematocrit or serum albumin and changes in tHcy.

Conclusions:

  • The study refutes folic acid supplementation, hemodilution, and decreased albumin as explanations for pregnancy-related tHcy reduction.
  • The observed tHcy changes during pregnancy may be influenced by endocrine factors.