Folic Acid Found to Help with Lung Health

by | Jun 12, 2009 | 2009, Asthma, Folic Acid & Folate, Lung Cancer

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Researchers found a significant association between highest blood levels of folic acid and a 30% reduced risk in inflammatory protein, 40% reduced risk in wheezing, 31% reduced risk of having atopy, and 16% reduced risk in doctor-diagnosed asthma compared to those with the lowest levels of folic acid.

Asthma affects more than 20 million Americans (including 6.1 million children) (1) and is recognized as “a major public health problem of increasing concern in the United States.” It is the third-ranking cause of hospitalization among those younger than 15 years of age, and costs $3.2 billion and accounts for 14 million lost school days each year (2).  Allergies affect more than 50 million Americans, are the 5th leading chronic disease in the U.S. and cost our healthcare system nearly $8 billion per year (3). Now a new study (4) has found that folic acid may be another way to help with lung health.

In the study, researchers collected data from the 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES (5). They looked at blood levels of folic acid and an inflammatory protein called IgE in more than 8,000 subjects two years of age and older.   They classified levels of IgE greater than 100 kU/L as “high”.  Looking at the patient records, they also looked at doctor-diagnosed asthma, wheezing, and atopy (a tendency to produce IgE when exposed to common allergens like dust, pollen, etc. (6)) during the previous year that was assessed by means of questionnaire.

The researchers found a significant association between blood levels of folic acid and IgE levels, wheezing, atopy, and doctor-diagnosed asthma.  Specifically, those with the highest blood levels of folic acid (>18.0 nanograms/milliliter) had a 30% reduced risk of having high IgE levels, 31% reduced of having atopy, 16% reduced risk of asthma, and 40% reduced risk of wheezing compared to those with the lowest levels of folic acid (<8.1 ng/mL). [p<0.05].

The researchers cited previous studies showing folic acid to help play a role in inflammation (7,8) and concluded that “higher serum folate levels are associated with lower total lgE levels and a lower risk of allergic sensitization and wheeze.”

Source: Matsui, Elizabeth C., and William Matsui. “Higher serum folate levels are associated with a lower risk of atopy and wheeze.” Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology 123.6 (2009): 1253-1259.

© 2009 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Posted June 12, 2009.

  1. Asthma” posted on the American Lung Association Website.
  2. CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health Website. “Asthma’s Impact on Children and Adolescents”.
  3. “Allergy Statistics” posted on the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology website.
  4. Matsui EC.  Higher serum folate levels are associated with a lower risk of atopy and wheeze.  In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 5 May 2009.
  5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data.
  6. “Atopy” posted on the MedicineNet.com website.
  7. L. Connor, L.S. Ojeda, G. Sexton, G. Weidner and W.E. Connor, Diets lower in folic acid and carotenoids are associated with the coronary disease epidemic in Central and Eastern Europe, J Am Diet Assoc 104 (2004), pp. 1793–1799.
  8. M. Klerk, P. Verhoef, R. Clarke, H.J. Blom, F.J. Kok and E.G. Schouten, MTHFR 677C→T polymorphism and risk of coronary heart disease: a meta-analysis, JAMA 288 (2002), pp. 2023–2031.