title: Maternal folate status and obesity/insulin resistance in the offspring: a systematic review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Prenatal folic acid supplementation or maternal folate sufficiency may protect the offspring from obesity and insulin resistance. This study aims to summarize the findings of association between prenatal folic acid supplementation/maternal folate sufficiency and obesity/insulin resistance in the offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twelve databases were searched for both published and unpublished work of prenatal folic acid supplementation/maternal folate status up to 1 July 2014. Experimental and observational studies on animals and human beings were included based on the eligibility criteria. There were no limits to the time period and language of publication. The study quality was assessed with a 10-Point Scale for Scientific Methodology.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The search identified 2548 records. Nine animal studies and five human studies satisfied search criteria were included. Five of these nine animal studies showed a protective effect of folic acid. Of the five human studies, one showed a protective effect of folic acid, two showed a harmful effect and two showed uncertain results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data from both animal studies and human studies are inconsistent. Future researches with sophisticated designs are needed to demonstrate the potential protective effect of maternal folate on obesity/insulin resistance in the offspring in animal models and human pregnancies.
authors.affiliation: Dean's office, School of Nursing, Hunan University of Medicine, Huaihua, China.|McLaughlin Center for Population Health Risk Assessment, Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: R-H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Anhui Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.|Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Central South University, Changsha, China.|OMNI Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Y-J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Retnakaran
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Research Division, Health Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: MacFarlane
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: OMNI Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Central South University, Changsha, China.|OMNI Research Group, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.|Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Wen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
chemical_list: D005492:Folic Acid