High Prevalence of Vitamin B12 Deficiency and No Folate Deficiency in Young Children in Nepal

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Nutrients
• Personal Author:
  Ng’eno, Bernadette N. ; Perrine, Cria G. ; Whitehead, Ralph D. ; Subedi, Giri Raj ; Mebrahtu, Saba ; Dahal, Pradiumna ; Jefferds, Maria Elena D.
• Description:
  Many children in low- and middle-income countries may have inadequate intake of vitamin B12 and folate; data confirming these inadequacies are limited. We used biochemical, demographic, behavioral and anthropometric data to describe the folate and vitamin B12 concentrations among six- to 23-month-old Nepalese children. Vitamin B12 (serum B12 < 150 pmol/L) and folate deficiencies (red blood cell (RBC) folate < 226.5 nmol/L) were assessed. We used logistic regression to identify predictors of vitamin B12 deficiency. The vitamin B12 geometric mean was 186 pmol/L; 30.2% of children were deficient. The mean RBC folate concentration was 13,612 nmol/L; there was no deficiency. Factors associated with vitamin B12 deficiency included: (a) age six to 11 months (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1.51; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.18, 1.92) or 12-17 months (aOR 1.38; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.72) compared to 18-23 months; (b) being stunted (aOR 1.24; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.50) compared to not being stunted; (c) and not eating animal-source foods (aOR 1.85; 95% CI: 1.42, 2.41) compared to eating animal-source foods the previous day. There was a high prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency, but no folate deficiency. Improving early feeding practices, including the consumption of rich sources of vitamin B12, such as animal-source foods and fortified foods, may help decrease deficiency.
• Subjects:
  Cluster Analysis Cross-Sectional Studies Female Folic Acid Folic Acid Deficiency Humans Infant Logistic Models Male Prevalence Vitamin B 12 Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

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• Source:
  Nutrients. 2017; 9(1).
• Pubmed ID:
  28106733
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5295116
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Nepal
• Volume:
  9
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:7a49640ccbf7b40b46b96750076b8a0721886d59933bbcc4b13e883c24188088
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/45347/cdc_45347_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 224.18 KB ]