Folic Acid Supplementation in Beta Thalassemia Minor

Critical Safety Considerations

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that vitamin B12 deficiency should be ruled out before initiating folic acid doses exceeding 1 mg daily, particularly in older adults, as high-dose folic acid can mask pernicious anemia while allowing irreversible neurologic damage to progress 1, 2
• Folic acid is water-soluble and excess is rapidly excreted in urine, making toxicity unlikely, according to the MMWR Recommendations and Reports 1