Folic acid important for health, again leading to death

Folic acid (or vitamin B9) is essential for preventing fetal malformations during pregnancy. But also in the synthesis of proteins.

Suicide represents one of the most common and widespread deaths of our times. Often, treatments used to reduce the risk include specific medications or psychotherapy.

In the United States, suicide is a leading cause of death and increased by 30% from 2000 to 2018. In Italy, on the other hand, about 4,000 deaths from suicide are recorded every year. The calculation refers to the population aged 15 and over because suicide is still a very rare event in childhood.

But a recent study found folic acid could prevent suicide attempts with a 44% reduction. Hence, you may need to always take it.

Folic acid could reduce the risk of suicide, the study

In short, it seems that between folic acid (vitamin B9) and suicide there is a very close link. To make known the link is a study published online on JAMA Psychiatry on September 28, 2022 (doi: 10.1001 / jamapsychiatry.2022.2990).

The study used data from some private health insurance patients who had requested folic acid between 2012 and 2017. In total, the research included 866,586 adults.

At first, the researchers became interested in this vitamin for another study in which they looked for the relationships between the 922 prescribed drugs and suicide attempts.

However, they soon realized that in patients taking folic acid the risk of suicide attempts was reduced and that, moreover, this vitamin was prescribed with the antidepressant drugsanxiolytics and antipsychotics.

Initially, the study showed that the suicide rate was very low in pregnant women. The reason for the drop was clear: they had to take folic acid throughout the pregnancy.

To be sure of the relationship between this vitamin and suicide they decided to prescribe folic acid to men as well. The results were the same as the previous ones: a reduction in the risk of suicide. The experiment continued for the next two years with an even more stunning result: a further 5% reduction.

Conclusions

In short, the study shows that there is a link between folic acid and reduced risk of suicide. However, as the researchers themselves warn, it is necessary to further investigate the subject to have evidence that the decrease in suicide risk is not accidental. In any case, if the data are confirmed, folic acid could be a drug to prevent this form of early death. An inexpensive and easily available prevention tool.

(The information in this article is for informational purposes only and concerns scientific studies published in medical journals. Therefore, it does not replace the consultation of a doctor or specialist, and should not be considered for formulating treatments or diagnoses)