Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Modifying Levels of Maternal Dietary Folic Acid or Choline to Study the Impact of Deficiencies on Offspring Health Outcomes
Published on: June 28, 2024
Oral folic acid supplementation for cervical dysplasia: a clinical intervention trial
C E Butterworth1, K D Hatch, S J Soong
1Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama, Birmingham 35294-3360.
Objective:
We attempted to evaluate the effect of oral folic acid supplementation on the course of cervical dysplasia.
Study Design:
A total of 235 subjects with grade 1 or 2 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia were randomly assigned to receive either 10 mg of folic acid or a placebo daily for 6 months. Clinical status, human papillomavirus type 16 infection, and blood folate levels were monitored at 2-month intervals. Outcome data were subjected to chi 2 analysis.
Results:
The prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 infection initially was 16% among subjects in the upper tertile of red blood cell folate versus 37% in the lower tertile (trend p = 0.035). After 6 months no significant differences were observed between supplemented and unsupplemented subjects regarding dysplasia status, biopsy results, or prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 infection.
Conclusion:
Folate deficiency may be involved as a cocarcinogen during the initiation of cervical dysplasia, but folic acid supplements do not alter the course of established disease.
