Unexpected effect
Folic acid almost halved the risk of suicide
Folic acid, or vitamin B9, is known primarily as a drug that reduces the risks of fetal pathology in pregnant women. Folates are necessary for proper DNA synthesis and, accordingly, are especially important for tissues whose cells are actively dividing. But recently a new, unexpected effect of this compound has been discovered.
According to WHO, suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Among young people aged 15-29, suicide occupies the fourth position – after deaths in road accidents, tuberculosis and interpersonal violence. Many strategies have been developed to reduce the risk of suicide, including drug therapy, psychotherapy and even economic support measures, but all this is not always effective, and often quite expensive.
Scientists from the USA studied the relationship between the frequency of suicide attempts and folic acid intake (water-soluble vitamin B9) based on data from the pharmacoepidemiological database of medical data MarketScan. They compared data on the same people during periods when they did not take folic acid medications during a two-year follow-up period. The control was data on the intake of another vitamin – B12 (cyanocobalamin).
It turned out that folic acid intake, unlike vitamin B12, was associated with a decrease in the frequency of suicidal events by almost half – by 44%! Moreover, the longer a person took folic acid, the lower the risk of suicide attempt: each month of taking this vitamin provided an additional 5% reduction in risk.
These results confirmed the conclusions of a previous study, when scientists were looking for the relationship between the likelihood of suicide and taking almost a thousand different drugs. Folic acid came into their field of vision along with medications such as anxiolytics (anti-anxiety drugs) and neuroleptics.
At first, scientists decided that this was a random association due to the presence in the sample of pregnant women who, on the one hand, take folic acid, and on the other – are less prone to suicidal tendencies. But now it is clear that the effect of taking this vitamin is manifested in all people, including men, and remains significant even with the exclusion of various influencing factors, such as age, taking other medications, etc.
Article by Gibbons et al. Prescription Fills and Suicide Attempts and Intentional Self-harm Among Privately Insured US Adults is published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
Of course, while it is impossible to categorically say that taking folic acid will really cure suicidal tendencies. To find out for sure, a large–scale clinical trial will be required, in which one group will receive folic acid, and the second will receive a "dummy". If the results are confirmed in this case, taking folic acid can become a safe, inexpensive and affordable way to prevent suicide.
On the other hand, it is probably not worth waiting for the results of clinical trials if the situation inspires concern. After all, folic acid itself is useful and necessary for the development and functioning of the circulatory and immune systems, and its intake in recommended doses is safe. In addition, there are a lot of folates in yeast, green vegetables (lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cabbage), legumes, nuts and many other products, and a diet rich in them will in any case contribute to physical and mental health.
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