Clin Lab. 2021 Sep 1;67(9). doi: 10.7754/Clin.Lab.2021.210144.
We aimed to investigate serum folate level in Korean women of reproductive age and to evaluate the prevalence of folate deficiency by age using different cutoffs.
We retrospectively reviewed data obtained with a serum folate assay traceable to World Health Organization international standard reference material 03/178.
Between September 2017 and June 2019, data from a total of 8,380 Korean women aged 15 - 49 years were obtained. Mean (standard deviation) serum folate concentration for all women was 9.1 (6.7) ng/mL. Prevalence of folate deficiency using the cutoff of < 3 ng/mL was 6.2% and that for < 4 ng/mL was 14.9%. The prevalence of folate deficiency was higher in women of younger age (15 to < 25 years, even > 30% using the cutoff of 4 ng/mL) compared to other age groups.
This study suggests that women aged 15 to < 25 years are at high risk of folate deficiency.
本研究旨在调查韩国育龄期女性的血清叶酸水平，并采用不同的截断值评估叶酸缺乏的流行率。
我们回顾性分析了可溯源至世界卫生组织国际标准物质 03/178 的血清叶酸检测数据。
2017 年 9 月至 2019 年 6 月，共获得 8380 名年龄在 15-49 岁的韩国女性的数据。所有女性的平均（标准差）血清叶酸浓度为 9.1（6.7）ng/mL。使用<3ng/mL 截断值时，叶酸缺乏的患病率为 6.2%，使用<4ng/mL 截断值时，患病率为 14.9%。叶酸缺乏的患病率在较年轻的女性（15 岁至<25 岁，甚至使用 4ng/mL 的截断值时>30%）中更高。
本研究表明，15 岁至<25 岁的女性有较高的叶酸缺乏风险。
