a Department of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine , Saarland University Hospital , Homburg/Saar , Germany.
b Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, University of Aarhus , Aarhus C , Denmark.
Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2019 May;70(3):367-376. doi: 10.1080/09637486.2018.1511686. Epub 2018 Sep 7.
Low folate status is a risk factor for birth defects. We studied concentrations of red blood cell (RBC)- and serum folate in 198 German women in relation to information on dietary folate intake, demographic and lifestyle factors. Median serum- and RBC-folate levels were; (14.7 and 589 nmol/L, respectively. Serum < 7.0 nmol/L or RBC-folate < 405 nmol/L were observed in 3.5% and 18.7% of the women, respectively. Three per cent of the women had both lowered serum and RBC-folate. Whereas RBC-folate > 952 nmol/L (optimal levels around conception) were observed in 9.6%. Serum- and RBC-folate were positively associated; they showed the expected correlations with homocysteine, but only weak correlations with folate intake. Younger age, lower fibre and higher carbohydrate intakes were associated with lower blood folate. Thus, folate intake of approximately 278 µg/d was not sufficient to achieve optimal folate status in young women. In conclusion, in the absence of fortification with folic acid, the majority of the women did not achieve folate status that is optimal for prevention of birth defects.
叶酸水平低是出生缺陷的一个风险因素。我们研究了 198 名德国女性的红细胞（RBC）和血清叶酸浓度与膳食叶酸摄入量、人口统计学和生活方式因素的关系。中位数血清和 RBC 叶酸水平分别为；（14.7 和 589nmol/L）。分别有 3.5%和 18.7%的女性血清<7.0nmol/L 或 RBC 叶酸<405nmol/L。3%的女性同时存在血清和 RBC 叶酸降低。而 RBC 叶酸>952nmol/L（受孕前后的最佳水平）的占 9.6%。血清和 RBC 叶酸呈正相关；它们与同型半胱氨酸呈预期相关，但与叶酸摄入量仅呈弱相关。年龄较小、膳食纤维和碳水化合物摄入量较低与血液叶酸水平较低有关。因此，大约 278μg/d 的叶酸摄入量不足以使年轻女性达到最佳叶酸状态。总之，在没有叶酸强化的情况下，大多数女性未能达到预防出生缺陷的最佳叶酸状态。
