Efficacy of Periconceptional High-Dose Folic Acid in Isolated Orofacial Cleft Prevention: A Systematic Review

Background The effectiveness of folic acid in prevention of neural tube defects has been well established. Periconceptional supplementation of folic acid in low doses has been shown to be effective in some studies on its efficacy in prevention of occurrence of clefts. There are few studies on high-d...

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Main Authors: Rajshree Jayarajan, Anantharajan Natarajan, Ravindranathan Nagamuttu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2019-05-01
Series:Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0039-1696864
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author Rajshree Jayarajan
Anantharajan Natarajan
Ravindranathan Nagamuttu
author_facet Rajshree Jayarajan
Anantharajan Natarajan
Ravindranathan Nagamuttu
author_sort Rajshree Jayarajan
collection DOAJ
description Background The effectiveness of folic acid in prevention of neural tube defects has been well established. Periconceptional supplementation of folic acid in low doses has been shown to be effective in some studies on its efficacy in prevention of occurrence of clefts. There are few studies on high-dose folic acid for prevention of occurrence and recurrence of clefts in high risk cases and the overall consensus based on these is not available. Objectives The aim of this review is to assess whether high-dose folic acid supplementation during the periconceptional period reduces the risk of occurrence of nonsyndromic clefts and recurrence in high-risk cases. Search Methods Search was conducted in the various databases and trial registers. There were no restrictions in the search with regards to language, study setting, or date of publication. Results The search yielded four studies—one randomized control trial, two prospective control trials, and a case–control surveillance on screening 401 articles. The three case–control studies were specifically on recurrence of clefts in high risk cases. The heterogeneity of the studies prevented conduction of a meta-analysis. But results of the studies demonstrate a strong association between high-dose folic acid and isolated nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL±CP). But such an effect is weak with regards to isolated cleft palate (CP). Conclusions With the limited evidence available, our conclusion is that high-dose folic acid probably has a role in prevention of recurrence of isolated CL±CP in high-risk individuals, but not CP.
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spelling doaj-art-c0bba2d77e284e08ae57cbb07ca7e10f2025-08-20T02:02:33ZengThieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery0970-03581998-376X2019-05-01520215315910.1055/s-0039-1696864Efficacy of Periconceptional High-Dose Folic Acid in Isolated Orofacial Cleft Prevention: A Systematic ReviewRajshree Jayarajan0Anantharajan Natarajan1Ravindranathan Nagamuttu2Department of Plastic Surgery, University Hospitals of Leicester, Leicester, United KingdomMaxillofacial, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Centre, Pantai Jerudong Medical Centre, Brunei DarussalamMaxillofacial, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Centre, Pantai Jerudong Medical Centre, Brunei DarussalamBackground The effectiveness of folic acid in prevention of neural tube defects has been well established. Periconceptional supplementation of folic acid in low doses has been shown to be effective in some studies on its efficacy in prevention of occurrence of clefts. There are few studies on high-dose folic acid for prevention of occurrence and recurrence of clefts in high risk cases and the overall consensus based on these is not available. Objectives The aim of this review is to assess whether high-dose folic acid supplementation during the periconceptional period reduces the risk of occurrence of nonsyndromic clefts and recurrence in high-risk cases. Search Methods Search was conducted in the various databases and trial registers. There were no restrictions in the search with regards to language, study setting, or date of publication. Results The search yielded four studies—one randomized control trial, two prospective control trials, and a case–control surveillance on screening 401 articles. The three case–control studies were specifically on recurrence of clefts in high risk cases. The heterogeneity of the studies prevented conduction of a meta-analysis. But results of the studies demonstrate a strong association between high-dose folic acid and isolated nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL±CP). But such an effect is weak with regards to isolated cleft palate (CP). Conclusions With the limited evidence available, our conclusion is that high-dose folic acid probably has a role in prevention of recurrence of isolated CL±CP in high-risk individuals, but not CP.http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0039-1696864periconceptionhigh-dose folic acidcleft lipcleft palate
spellingShingle Rajshree Jayarajan
Anantharajan Natarajan
Ravindranathan Nagamuttu
Efficacy of Periconceptional High-Dose Folic Acid in Isolated Orofacial Cleft Prevention: A Systematic Review
Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
periconception
high-dose folic acid
cleft lip
cleft palate
title Efficacy of Periconceptional High-Dose Folic Acid in Isolated Orofacial Cleft Prevention: A Systematic Review
title_full Efficacy of Periconceptional High-Dose Folic Acid in Isolated Orofacial Cleft Prevention: A Systematic Review
title_fullStr Efficacy of Periconceptional High-Dose Folic Acid in Isolated Orofacial Cleft Prevention: A Systematic Review
title_full_unstemmed Efficacy of Periconceptional High-Dose Folic Acid in Isolated Orofacial Cleft Prevention: A Systematic Review
title_short Efficacy of Periconceptional High-Dose Folic Acid in Isolated Orofacial Cleft Prevention: A Systematic Review
title_sort efficacy of periconceptional high dose folic acid in isolated orofacial cleft prevention a systematic review
topic periconception
high-dose folic acid
cleft lip
cleft palate
url http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0039-1696864
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