Assantachai Prasert, Lekhakula Somsong
Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, 10700, Thailand.
Public Health Nutr. 2007 Jan;10(1):65-70. doi: 10.1017/S136898000720494X.
To examine the prevalence and risk factors of vitamin deficiencies among older Thai adults.
The cross-sectional study was conducted in four rural communities, one from each of the four main regions of Thailand. In total, 2336 subjects aged 60 years and over were recruited. Anthropometric variables, demographic data, blood glucose and lipid profile, albumin, globulin and blood levels of vitamin A, beta-carotene, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin C, vitamin E and vitamin B1 were all measured.
The prevalence of vitamin deficiencies was 0.6% for vitamin B12, 6.1% for vitamin A, 9.9% for vitamin C, 30.1% for vitamin B1, 38.8% for erythrocyte folate, 55.5% for vitamin E and 83.0% for beta-carotene. Male gender was a common risk factor for at least three vitamin deficiencies, i.e. beta-carotene, folate and vitamin E. Being a manual worker was a common risk factor of beta-carotene and vitamin B1 deficiency. Poor income was found as a risk factor only in erythrocyte folate deficiency while increasing age was a significant factor only in vitamin C deficiency.
The prevalence of vitamin deficiencies among older Thai people was quite different from that found in Western countries, reflecting different socio-economic backgrounds. Vitamin deficiency was not only from poor food intake but also from the dietary habit of monotonous food consumption in older people. Some common associated factors of atherosclerosis were also significantly related to folate and vitamin E deficiencies.
研究泰国老年人群中维生素缺乏症的患病率及其危险因素。
本横断面研究在泰国四个主要地区的四个农村社区开展。共招募了2336名60岁及以上的受试者。测量了人体测量学变量、人口统计学数据、血糖和血脂谱、白蛋白、球蛋白以及维生素A、β-胡萝卜素、叶酸、维生素B12、维生素C、维生素E和维生素B1的血液水平。
维生素缺乏症的患病率分别为：维生素B12为0.6%，维生素A为6.1%，维生素C为9.9%，维生素B1为30.1%，红细胞叶酸为38.8%，维生素E为55.5%，β-胡萝卜素为83.0%。男性是至少三种维生素缺乏症（即β-胡萝卜素、叶酸和维生素E）的常见危险因素。从事体力劳动是β-胡萝卜素和维生素B1缺乏的常见危险因素。低收入仅在红细胞叶酸缺乏时被发现是危险因素，而年龄增长仅在维生素C缺乏时是显著因素。
泰国老年人维生素缺乏症的患病率与西方国家有很大不同，这反映了不同的社会经济背景。维生素缺乏不仅源于食物摄入不足，还源于老年人单调的食物消费饮食习惯。动脉粥样硬化的一些常见相关因素也与叶酸和维生素E缺乏显著相关。
