Folate Deficiency Is Prevalent in Women of Childbearing Age in Belize and Is Negatively Affected by Coexisting Vitamin B-12 Deficiency: Belize National Micronutrient Survey 20111–4

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Nutr
• Personal Author:
  Rosenthal, Jorge ; Largaespada, Natalia ; Bailey, Lynn B ; Cannon, Michael ; Alverson, CJ ; Ortiz, Dayrin ; Kauwell, Gail PA ; Sniezek, Joe ; Figueroa, Ramon ; Daly, Robyn ; Allen, Peter
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• Description:
  Background ; Folate deficiency, vitamin B-12 deficiency, and anemia can have adverse effects on birth outcomes. Also, low vitamin B-12 reduces the formation of metabolically active folate. ; Objectives ; We sought to establish the baseline prevalence of and factors associated with folate deficiency and insufficiency, vitamin B-12 deficiency, and anemia among women of childbearing age (WCBA) in Belize. ; Methods ; In 2011, a national probability-based survey was completed among Belizean nonpregnant WCBA aged 15–49 y. Blood samples for determination of hemoglobin, folate (RBC and serum), and vitamin B-12 (plasma) and sociodemographic and health information were collected from 937 women. RBC and serum folate concentrations were measured by microbiologic assay (MBA). Folate status was defined based on both the WHO-recommended radioproteinbinding assay and the assay adjusted for the MBA. ; Results ; The national prevalence estimates for folate deficiency in WCBA, based on serum and RBC folate concentrations by using the assay-matched cutoffs, were 11.0% (95% CI: 8.6%, 14.0%) and 35.1% (95% CI: 31.3%, 39.2%), respectively. By using the assay-matched compared with the WHO-recommended cutoffs, a substantially higher prevalence of folate deficiency was observed based on serum (6.9% absolute difference) and RBC folate (28.9% absolute difference) concentrations. The prevalence for RBC folate insufficiency was 48.9% (95%CI: 44.8%, 53.1%). Prevalence estimates for vitamin B-12 deficiency and marginal deficiency and anemia were 17.2% (95% CI: 14.2%, 20.6%), 33.2% (95% CI: 29.6%, 37.1%), and 22.7% (95% CI: 19.5%, 26.2%), respectively. The adjusted geometric means of the RBC folate concentration increased significantly (P-trend < 0.001) in WCBA who had normal vitamin B-12 status relative to WCBA who were vitamin B-12 deficient. ; Conclusions ; In Belize, the prevalence of folate and vitamin B-12 deficiencies continues to be a public health concern among WCBA. Furthermore, low folate status co-occurred with low vitamin B-12 status, underlining the importance of providing adequate vitamin B-12 and folic acid intake through approaches such as mandatory food fortification.
• Keywords:
  • anemia
  • folate deficiency
  • folate insufficiency
  • vitamin B-12 deficiency
  • women of childbearing age
  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Anemia
  • Belize
  • Erythrocytes
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• Source:
  J Nutr. 147(6):1183-1193
• Pubmed ID:
  28404832
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5548006
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  CC999999/Intramural CDC HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  147
• Issue:
  6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/47449/cdc_47449_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.21 MB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f606078187729d11436156d8763e9258201095fd5991b50d9dfa36c71a00433224091ab508337a37e29f7c33007da15f0477825ce137715a81381855892a2816