Question: In adults with depression and low mood, how effective is folic acid, compared to any other pharmacological intervention, in improving mood?

Answer:

Plain language summary

There is minimal evidence available to determine whether folic acid can help with depression and low mood and there are no clinical guidelines available. More research is needed to help understand this area further.

Clinical and research implications

No definite clinical implications may be made based on the evidence included in this BEST summary. There were no studies that directly compared folic acid with any other pharmacological interventions in adults with depression, with the exception of one RCT included in a Cochrane review. This RCT compared folate with trazodone in patients with comorbid dementia and depression, so that it's applicability to this BEST summary is questionable.

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