Folate Lowers High Blood Pressure in Women

The large study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2005, vol 293, issue 3), found that a high intake of folate supplements reduced the risk of hypertension in women. Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, compared the dietary folate and supplemental folic acid intake of 93,803 younger women (ages 27-44 years) in the Nurses' Health Study II (1991-1999) and 62,260 older women (ages 43-70 years) in the Nurses' Health Study I (1990-1998), who did not have a history of hypertension. The scientists measured the participants' folate intake with a detailed questionnaire on food-frequency and folate supplement. Measurements were updated every four years. Researchers identified 7,373 incident cases of hypertension in younger women and 12,347 cases in older women.

Analysis of the data found that younger women who took at least 1,000 micrograms of folate from diet and supplements had 46 percent less risk of hypertension than those who took less than 200mcg. Older women who took at least 1,000 micrograms of folate from diet and supplements had 18 percent less risk of hypertension than those who took less than 200mcg. "These results may have important public health implications in the United States, given the ready availability and safety of folic acid supplementation and the clinical importance of hypertension," the study authors conclude.