Indication: Spontaneous abortion

Source: JAMA, 2002;288:1867-1873

Research: A population-based, matched, case-control study of case women with spontaneous abortion and control wo­men from January 1996 through December 1998 in Uppsala County, Sweden, was conducted. Plasma folate measurements were available for 468 cases and 921 controls at 6-12 gestational weeks.

Results: Compared with women with plasma folate levels between 2.20 and 3.95 ng/mL, women with low folate levels were at increased risk of spontaneous abortion whereas women with higher folate levels showed no increased risk of spontaneous abortion. Low folate levels were associated with significantly increased risk when the fetal karyotype was abnormal but not when the fetal karyotype was normal or unknown. Researchers concluded that low plasma folate levels were associated with an increased risk of early spontaneous abortion.