A recent article in the Archives 1 reported on the development of anemia in the Leiden 85-Plus Study. Folate deficiency and elevated serum homocysteine level were associated with anemia both at baseline and at the 5-year follow-up. However, the authors did not assess associations between anemia and dietary and red blood cell folate levels. It is important to investigate these relationships beca...

The recent widespread application of the microbiological assay of folate in serum, whole blood, and red cells has led to many reports on the folate status of infants (Matoth et al., 1964a, b; Matoth, Pinkas, and Sroka, 1965; Vanier and Tyas, 1966), including some on the folate status of premature infants (Shojania and Gross 1964; Strelling et al., 1966; Vanier and Tyas, 1967). This study was de...

Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment. Folate insufficiency fosters a decline in the sole methyl donor, S-adenosylmethionine, and decreases methylation potential, which is associated with Alzheimer's disease in non-diabetic patients. However, little is known in diabetic patients. We analyzed plasma levels of S-adenosylmethionine, S-adenosylhomocy...

BACKGROUND Both folate and betaine are important predictors of total homocysteine (tHcy) during pregnancy. However, studies to date have only been undertaken in populations with Western dietary patterns. OBJECTIVE We investigated the predictors of tHcy in pregnant women recruited in the Seychelles, a population where access to fortified foods is limited and where women habitually consume diet...

Background—Both folate and betaine are important predictors of total homocysteine (tHcy) during pregnancy. However, studies to date have only been undertaken in populations with Western dietary patterns. Objective—We investigated the predictors of tHcy in pregnant women recruited in the Seychelles, a population where access to fortified foods is limited and where women habitually consume diets ...

High serum homocysteine (Hcy) level is regarded as an indicator for impairment of folate-dependent methionine cycle and is associated with oxidative stress. In a case control study, we evaluated eighty 3-5 years old Omani children (40 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and 40 their age and gender matched controls) for their fasting serum homocysteine levels as a biomarker of Autism Spectru...

Alcohol has many effects on folate metabolism. Excess alcohol consumption is often associated with a poor (folate deficient) diet and malabsorption. Alcohol accelerates the induction of megaloblastic anemia in subjects on a low folate diet. It antagonizes the hematopoietic response to folate (75 yg/day) in folate-deficient alcoholics, but its effect can be overcome either by larger doses of fol...

NHANES measured folate and vitamin B-12 status biomarkers, starting with serum folate from NHANES I (1974-1975) through 2010. Subsequent NHANES measured additional biomarkers [eg, red blood cell folate, serum vitamin B-12, total homocysteine (tHcy), methylmalonic acid, serum folic acid, and 5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid]. Examples of the uses of these data are wide ranging and include public pol...

Environmental and genetic factors influence serum total homocysteine (tHcy), a risk factor for vascular diseases. The gene polymorphism of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is reported to be a genetic factor for influencing tHcy. However, it is not clear whether MTHFR polymorphism influences tHcy in the younger generation. To investigate the influence of MTHFR polymorphism on vascular...

BACKGROUND Recent data indicate that cobalamin and folate status, including the metabolic markers methylmalonic acid (MMA) and total homocysteine (tHcy), undergo marked changes during childhood, particularly during the first year. METHODS Serum cobalamin, serum and whole-blood folate, and plasma MMA and tHcy were determined in a cross-sectional study of 700 children, ages 4 days to 19 years. ...