Lasheras C, Huerta J M, González S, Prada M, Braga S, Fernández S, Patterson A M
Departamento de Biología Funcional, Area de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2003 Dec;13(6):384-90. doi: 10.1016/s0939-4753(03)80008-x.
Total plasma homocysteine (tHcy) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Among other dietary and non-dietary factors, B vitamins, such as folate, riboflavin and cobalamin, are primary determinants of tHcy in the general population. However, research has concentrated on the relationship of these nutrients with tHcy, and little is known about overall eating patterns and tHcy.
In this study, we analysed whether a diet score based on the consumption of folate-, riboflavin- and cobalamin-rich food groups was associated with tHcy in a sample of 140 institutionalised elderly subjects (59 men and 81 women aged 60-80 years) from Northern Spain. The food groups identified as the major contributors to the intake of the three vitamins were vegetables, fruit, fish, meat and milk and dairy products. The mean tHcy level was 13.3+/-5.1 micromol/L (range: 3.9-30.7 micromol/L). None of the food groups predicted tHcy levels individually, but the overall diet score was inversely associated with tHcy in a multiple linear regression analysis. High tHcy levels (>16 micromol/L) were almost twice as prevalent in the groups scoring less than 7 than in those scoring 7 or more (37.5 vs 19.6%, p=0.021).
These data suggest that a dietary pattern characterised by high intakes of B vitamin-rich foods is associated with a lower tHcy concentration and a reduced percentage of high tHcy levels in elderly subjects. They also support the use of dietary pattern approaches to evaluate the relationships between diet and health outcomes that go beyond single nutrient analyses.
血浆总同型半胱氨酸（tHcy）是心血管疾病的独立危险因素。在其他饮食和非饮食因素中，维生素B，如叶酸、核黄素和钴胺素，是普通人群中tHcy的主要决定因素。然而，研究主要集中在这些营养素与tHcy的关系上，而对于整体饮食模式与tHcy的了解甚少。
在本研究中，我们分析了基于富含叶酸、核黄素和钴胺素食物组的饮食评分，与来自西班牙北部140名机构养老老年人（59名男性和81名女性，年龄60 - 80岁）样本中tHcy的相关性。被确定为这三种维生素主要摄入来源的食物组包括蔬菜、水果、鱼类、肉类以及牛奶和奶制品。tHcy的平均水平为13.3±5.1微摩尔/升（范围：3.9 - 30.7微摩尔/升）。没有任何一个食物组能单独预测tHcy水平，但在多元线性回归分析中，整体饮食评分与tHcy呈负相关。tHcy水平>16微摩尔/升在得分低于7分的组中几乎是得分7分及以上组的两倍（37.5%对19.6%，p = 0.021）。
这些数据表明，以高摄入富含维生素B食物为特征的饮食模式，与老年受试者较低的tHcy浓度以及高tHcy水平的较低比例相关。它们还支持采用饮食模式方法来评估饮食与健康结果之间的关系，而不仅仅局限于单一营养素分析。
