People With High Folic Acid Supplementation More Likely To Get COVID-19 And Die From It: Study

The risk of COVID-19 infection decreased when folic acid was given together with antifolate drug methotrexate, say researchers.

Are you taking folic acid supplements? If yes, you may be at higher risk of getting COVID-19 infections as well as more likely to die from the disease, according to a new study.

The study found that people with a folic acid prescription had 1.5 times higher odds of getting COVID-19 infections and more than 2.6 times greater risk of dying from the disease compared to the control group. The study results have been published in the journal BMJ Open.

Additionally, the study revealed that the antifolate drug methotrexate can reduce the negative impact of folic acid on COVID-19.

Why some people need folic acid supplements?

Deficiency of vitamin B9 or folate is associated with increased risk of various health conditions such as heart disease, stroke and birth defects. Folate is naturally found in dark green leafy vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, peas, lentils, dairy products, meat, poultry, etc. Folic acid, which is a synthetic form of folate, is used to treat or prevent vitamin B9 deficiency. Folic acid supplements are prescribed for people with sickle cell disease, high-risk pregnancies, as well as for those who are taking anti-seizure medications and methotrexate (a drug used to treat certain types of cancer and autoimmune diseases) to offset their side effects.

Folic acid supplementation and COVID-19

The research team from the UC Davis Health and the University of Alabama at Birmingham, looked at health data of 380,380 patients enrolled in the UK Biobank to examine if high folic acid supplementation (five times the safe upper limit of one milligram) was associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 infection and mortality.

Surprisingly, they found that higher rate of COVID-19 infections and mortality among people treated with folic acid compared to the control group.

On the contrary, methotrexate prescription was found to be associated with a decreased risk of COVID-19 infection.

Last year, a study a published in Nature Communications had revealed the SARS-CoV-2 virus can hijack the host's folate for viral replication, indicating that the virus might be sensitive to both folate and folate inhibitors.

The researchers noted that although prescription of folate is required for certain heath conditions, clinicians need be cautious about high doses of folic acid.

Although further research is required to confirm the findings, they want people to avoid "extremely high doses of folic acid unless it is medically indicated."

High folic acid supplementation is of greater concern for individuals who have not received the COVID-19 vaccines, they added.