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Published on: June 28, 2024
Maternal folic acid supplement intake and semen quality in Danish sons: a follow-up study
Kristoffer Jacobsen1, Cecilia Høst Ramlau-Hansen, Ane Marie Thulstrup
1Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Objective:
To examine whether maternal folic acid supplement intake during pregnancy is related to better semen quality in male offspring.
Design:
A follow-up study.
Setting:
Two major Danish municipalities, Aalborg and Odense.
Patient(S):
The study population included 347 singleton sons of mothers enrolled into the Healthy Habits for Two cohort when pregnant in 1984-87.
Intervention(S):
Information on maternal folic acid supplement intake during pregnancy was provided by self-administered questionnaire in the 36th week of gestation.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Semen characteristics and serum concentrations of sex hormones.
Result(S):
The distribution of semen characteristics among sons whose mothers took folic acid supplement during pregnancy (n = 88, 25%) did not differ from the distributions among those without (n = 75, 22%) or with unknown folic acid supplement intake (n = 84, 53%). On the contrary, serum levels of FSH and LH were significantly higher in the folic acid supplement group.
Conclusion(S):
The hypothesis that folic acid supplement intake during pregnancy will improve semen quality in male offspring was not corroborated by a follow-up study in young Danish men.
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