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The Association Between Maternal Serum Folate and Offspring Heart Health
18 June 2025
A recent study highlighted the relationship between folate levels in maternal serum and congenital heart diseases among babies.
Quatrefolic®, the active folate, doesn't need to be metabolized, and it is readily available for the mother, supporting the proper development of the fetus.
The research examined 129 children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and 516 without, analyzing maternal blood samples taken around the 16th week of pregnancy to measure folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine levels. Based on their folate levels, mothers were divided into three categories: the lowest 25%, the middle 50%, and the highest 25%.
Findings revealed that mothers in the lowest folate group were over three times more likely to have a child with CHD compared to those in the middle group.
Surprisingly, an increased risk was also observed among mothers in the highest folate group, who had 1.81 times the odds of having a child with CHD.
Folate and Homocysteine: A Critical Link in Prenatal Health
Elevated homocysteine levels combined with low folate were associated with nearly a ninefold increase in the likelihood of CHD. In contrast, the risk remained elevated even in the high folate group, about seven times higher.
Elevated homocysteine levels appeared to mediate around 32.9% of the link between low folate levels and increased CHD risk. This highlights a key role for homocysteine, an amino acid involved in the methionine-homocysteine cycle—a vital metabolic pathway that supports crucial cellular processes such as DNA synthesis, repair, and methylation.
