Folic acid supplementation may substantially improve cognitive function for older adults,
according to an Article in this week’s Lancet.

Cognitive function declines with age, especially cognitive domains related to information
processing speed and memory. Such changes in cognitive function have been linked to risk of
dementia in old age. Previous studies have suggested that low folate and raised
homocysteine concentrations in the blood are important risk factors associated with poor
cognitive performance.

In the Folic Acid and Carotid Intima-media Thickness (FACIT) trial, Jane Durga (Wageningen
University and Wageningen Centre for Food Sciences, Netherlands) and colleagues randomly
assigned 818 participants 800 g daily oral folic acid supplementation or placebo for 3 years.
They found that cognitive functions such as memory and information processing speed
improved in adults given folic acid compared with placebo.

The authors conclude: “We have shown that 3-year folic acid supplementation improves
performance on tests that measure information processing speed and memory, domains that
are known to decline with age. [Our study was conducted] in older adults with raised total
homocysteine concentrations. . .Trials similar to our own should be repeated in other
populations to provide greater insight into the clinical relevance of folic acid
supplementation, such as in populations with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.”