Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: As the life expectancy of elderly people has drastically increased, the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in this population has proportionally grown. Vascular cognitive impairment refers to all forms of cognitive disorder associated with cerebrovascular disease. H...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gofir, Abdul, Wibowo, Samekto, Hakimi, Mohammad, Putera, David Dwi, Satriotomo, Irawan, Mustofa, Mustofa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://repository.ugm.ac.id/282727/1/Gofir_KKMK.pdf
_version_ 1797037591340515328
author Gofir, Abdul
Wibowo, Samekto
Hakimi, Mohammad
Putera, David Dwi
Satriotomo, Irawan
Mustofa, Mustofa
author_facet Gofir, Abdul
Wibowo, Samekto
Hakimi, Mohammad
Putera, David Dwi
Satriotomo, Irawan
Mustofa, Mustofa
author_sort Gofir, Abdul
collection UGM
description Background: As the life expectancy of elderly people has drastically increased, the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in this population has proportionally grown. Vascular cognitive impairment refers to all forms of cognitive disorder associated with cerebrovascular disease. Homocysteine has recently been recognized as a contributor to the pathomechanisms involved in cognitive impairment. B vitamins, such as folic acid, are known to be effective in lowering homocysteine levels. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of research on folic acid treatments for vascular cognitive impairment. Only randomized controlled trials studies that compared the efficacy of folic acid with placebo or other interventions were considered, irrespective of publication status, year of publication, and languages. Two independent reviewers searched the Medline via Ovid, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central) journal databases up to July 2021 and independently appraised the included studies. We used mean difference outcome with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to calculate the change of Mini-Mental State Examination, cognitive function domain, and concentration of homocysteine. Results: We found 3 studies comparing folic acid with placebo and 1 study comparing folic acid with other interventions. There is only slight evidence that the Mini-Mental State Examination score in patients who received folic acid increased 0.3 point higher compared with the placebo group after 24 months (95% CI =-0.12 to 0.37; P =. 31). There is very strong evidence that the concentration of homocysteine in the folic acid group became 6.16 μmol/L lower compared with the placebo group after 6 months (95% CI = 2.32 to 8.21 lower; P<.001). Conclusions: Our review shows the effectiveness of folic acid in lowering the plasma homocysteine concentration after 6 months compared with placebo. However, this effect was not accompanied by improvement in cognitive function.
first_indexed 2024-03-14T00:05:39Z
format Article
id oai:generic.eprints.org:282727
institution Universiti Gadjah Mada
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-14T00:05:39Z
publishDate 2021
publisher Oxford University Press
record_format dspace
spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:2827272023-11-16T06:49:26Z https://repository.ugm.ac.id/282727/ Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Gofir, Abdul Wibowo, Samekto Hakimi, Mohammad Putera, David Dwi Satriotomo, Irawan Mustofa, Mustofa Neurosciences Background: As the life expectancy of elderly people has drastically increased, the incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in this population has proportionally grown. Vascular cognitive impairment refers to all forms of cognitive disorder associated with cerebrovascular disease. Homocysteine has recently been recognized as a contributor to the pathomechanisms involved in cognitive impairment. B vitamins, such as folic acid, are known to be effective in lowering homocysteine levels. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of research on folic acid treatments for vascular cognitive impairment. Only randomized controlled trials studies that compared the efficacy of folic acid with placebo or other interventions were considered, irrespective of publication status, year of publication, and languages. Two independent reviewers searched the Medline via Ovid, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Central) journal databases up to July 2021 and independently appraised the included studies. We used mean difference outcome with 95% confidence intervals (CI) to calculate the change of Mini-Mental State Examination, cognitive function domain, and concentration of homocysteine. Results: We found 3 studies comparing folic acid with placebo and 1 study comparing folic acid with other interventions. There is only slight evidence that the Mini-Mental State Examination score in patients who received folic acid increased 0.3 point higher compared with the placebo group after 24 months (95% CI =-0.12 to 0.37; P =. 31). There is very strong evidence that the concentration of homocysteine in the folic acid group became 6.16 μmol/L lower compared with the placebo group after 6 months (95% CI = 2.32 to 8.21 lower; P<.001). Conclusions: Our review shows the effectiveness of folic acid in lowering the plasma homocysteine concentration after 6 months compared with placebo. However, this effect was not accompanied by improvement in cognitive function. Oxford University Press 2021-11-15 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en https://repository.ugm.ac.id/282727/1/Gofir_KKMK.pdf Gofir, Abdul and Wibowo, Samekto and Hakimi, Mohammad and Putera, David Dwi and Satriotomo, Irawan and Mustofa, Mustofa (2021) Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, 25 (2). pp. 136-143. ISSN 14611457 https://academic.oup.com/ijnp/article/25/2/136/6428560 https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyab076
spellingShingle Neurosciences
Gofir, Abdul
Wibowo, Samekto
Hakimi, Mohammad
Putera, David Dwi
Satriotomo, Irawan
Mustofa, Mustofa
Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_full Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_fullStr Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_full_unstemmed Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_short Folic Acid Treatment for Patients with Vascular Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
title_sort folic acid treatment for patients with vascular cognitive impairment a systematic review and meta analysis
topic Neurosciences
url https://repository.ugm.ac.id/282727/1/Gofir_KKMK.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT gofirabdul folicacidtreatmentforpatientswithvascularcognitiveimpairmentasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT wibowosamekto folicacidtreatmentforpatientswithvascularcognitiveimpairmentasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT hakimimohammad folicacidtreatmentforpatientswithvascularcognitiveimpairmentasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT puteradaviddwi folicacidtreatmentforpatientswithvascularcognitiveimpairmentasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT satriotomoirawan folicacidtreatmentforpatientswithvascularcognitiveimpairmentasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis
AT mustofamustofa folicacidtreatmentforpatientswithvascularcognitiveimpairmentasystematicreviewandmetaanalysis