Folic Acid Therapy and Cardiovascular Disease in ESRD or Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease

Abstract

Background and objectives The efficacy of folic acid therapy to lower homocysteine (Hcy) levels in an effort to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with ESRD or advanced chronic kidney disease (ACKD; creatinine clearance, 24 months (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.98; P = 0.02), a decrease in Hcy level >20% (RR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.007), and no or partial folic acid fortification (RR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65 to 0.99; P = 0.04). The beneficial effect also was seen when Hcy levels decreased >20%, even in the presence of folic acid fortification (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.99; P = 0.04). In the corresponding comparison groups, the estimated RRs were attenuated and insignificant. Conclusions Folic acid therapy can reduce CVD risk in patients with ESRD/ACKD by 15%. A greater beneficial effect was observed among those trials with no or partial folic acid fortification or a decrease in Hcy level >20% regardless of folic acid fortification.