Three-month B vitamin supplementation in pre-school children affects folate status and homocysteine, but not cognitive performance

Rauh-Pfeiffer, Astrid and Handel, Uschi and Demmelmair, Hans and Peissner, Wolfgang and Niesser, Mareile and Moretti, Diego and Martens, Vanessa and Wiseman, Sheila and Weichert, Judith and Heene, Moritz and Buehner, Markus and Koletzko, Berthold (2014) Three-month B vitamin supplementation in pre-school children affects folate status and homocysteine, but not cognitive performance. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NUTRITION, 53 (7). pp. 1445-1456.

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Suboptimal vitamin B status might affect cognitive performance in early childhood. We tested the hypothesis that short-term supplementation with folic acid and selected B vitamins improves cognitive function in healthy children in a population with relatively low folate status. We screened 1,002 kindergarten children for suboptimal folate status by assessing the total urinary para-aminobenzoylglutamate excretion. Two hundred and fifty low ranking subjects were recruited into a double blind, randomized, controlled trial to receive daily a sachet containing 220 mu g folic acid, 1.1 mg vitamin B-2, 0.73 mg B-6, 1.2 mu g B-12 and 130 mg calcium, or calcium only for 3 months. Primary outcomes were changes in verbal IQ, short-term memory and processing speed between baseline and study end. Secondary outcomes were urinary markers of folate and vitamin B-12 status, acetyl-para-aminobenzoylglutamate and methylmalonic acid, respectively, and, in a subgroup of 120 participants, blood folate and plasma homocysteine. Pre- and post-intervention cognitive measurements were completed by 115 children in the intervention and 122 in the control group. Compared to control, median blood folate increased by about 50 % (P for difference, P < 0.0001). Homocysteine decreased by 1.1 mu mol/L compared to baseline, no change was seen in the control group (P for difference P < 0.0001) and acetyl-para-aminobenzoylglutamate was 4 nmol/mmol higher compared to control at the end of the intervention (P < 0.0001). We found no relevant differences between the groups for the cognitive measures. Short-term improvement of folate and homocysteine status in healthy children does not appear to affect cognitive performance.

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item