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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

The effects of fasting and refeeding healthy volunteers on serum folate levels.

Fasting serum folate levels are commonly used in assessing folate status and also in estimating the bioavailability of synthetic folic acid and food folate. Previous work has shown that serum folate more than doubles in concentration during a 48 hour fast. Following a 24-hour standardisation procedure, serum and urinary folate levels were measured in nine healthy female volunteers fasting for 36 hours and in the first 6 hours during refeeding. Serum folate concentration increased from a mean of 14.8 ng/ml to 29.3 ng/ml during the 36 hour fast and fell to 22.1 ng/ml during the 6 hour refeeding period. The rise in serum folate concentration during the fast was negatively related to serum folate concentration at 0 hours fasting. It is hypothesised that the enterohepatic recirculation of folate plays an important role in the underlying physiological mechanism. These findings highlight the need to standardise energy intake to control for hepatic influences on folate metabolism in future studies assessing the bioavailability of folate in food.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

The effect of oral contraceptive therapy and of pregnancy on serum folate levels of rural Sri Lankan women.

Serum folate level, packed cell volume and haemoglobin concentration of apparently healthy rural Sri Lankan women, between 20 and 45 years and earning up to Rs. 500 (Sri Lankan Rs. 35 congruent to 1 pound Sterling) per month, were estimated during pregnancy and when on oral contraceptive (OC) treatment with Ovulen 50 (ethinyl oestradiol 0.05 mg, ethinodiol diacetate 1 mg). Ovulen 50 administration led to a fall in serum folate levels which occurred very rapidly during the first 6 months and more slowly thereafter, stabilizing at 2.2 ng/ml in women of very low economic status and at 2.9 ng/ml in the more privileged. There was a steady fall in serum folate concentrations during pregnancy, the levels at the end of pregnancy being higher than those in women under OC treatment for 9 months. The need for folate supplementation during OC treatment is stressed.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Serum folate levels among women attending family planning clinics--Georgia, 2000.

Since 1998, serum folate levels have increased nationally after mandatory fortification of cereal grain products with folic acid. Whether serum folate levels have increased among all women has not been well-studied. Identifying characteristics of women with lower serum folate levels would also be helpful in designing educational campaigns. Data for this report were collected during January 2000-January 2001. During 2000, blood samples were collected from 1,059 women aged 18-45 years who attended six family planning clinics in Georgia and analyzed for serum folate levels. This sample included women aged 18-25 years (60%), black women (41%), and women who had a high school education or less (49%). The median serum folate level (8.9 ng/mL) among this population was lower than the median of women of childbearing age (13.0 ng/mL) who participated in the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In logistic regression analysis, women who were black (odds ratio [OR] = 2.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.48, 3.96), who smoked (OR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.26, 3.43), or who used Depo-Provera contraceptive injection (manufactured by Pharmacia Corporation, Peapack, New Jersey) (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.15, 4.62) were more likely to be ranked in the lowest quartile (< or = 62 ng/mL) of serum folate concentrations when compared with the highest quartile (> 12.4 ng/mL). Women who consumed cereal regularly (OR = 0.4; 95% CI = 0.26, 0.62) or folic acid supplements (OR = 0.2; 95% CI = 0.09, 0.30) were the least likely to be in the lowest serum folate quartile. This study indicates that certain women are at greater risk for having lower serum folate levels, including women who are black, smokers, Depo-Provera users, and those less likely to eat cereal regularly or to take folic acid supplements. In Georgia, these data are useful in defining target populations (e.g., black women and smokers) for folic acid education campaigns because public health officials can develop contextually appropriate messages and outreach approaches for targeting women for folic acid interventions. Ongoing surveillance of serum folate status among women can guide future intervention efforts.

Adult↗
PubMed1973

Effect of alcohol on serum folate level.

Alcohol was given orally and intravenously to normal and chronic alcoholic volunteers to study its effect on folate metabolism. Oral alcohol, given to nine subjects on a low folate diet, caused a greater fall in serum Lactobacillus casei folate levels than that seen in eight subjects on a low folate diet alone. This alcohol-induced fall in serum folate level occurred largely during the 1st day of the protocol. Although brief infusions of intravenous ethanol had no effect on serum folate level, a 13 h infusion caused a striking fall in serum folate level between the 8th and 10th h. When ethanol was stopped, the serum folate level returned rapidly to normal. Two chronic alcoholic subjects with different basal levels of serum folate were studied for several weeks on a low folate diet plus alcohol. The serum folate level fell promptly in each subject, rose when alcohol was temporarily stopped, and fell when alcohol was resumed. Folate-deficient megaloblastic anemia developed in 3 wk in the subject with initially marginal serum folate levels, but failed to develop in almost 7 wk in the subject with normal folate stores, as reflected by initially high serum folate levels. Thus, the alcohol-induced fall in serum folate level was apparently not a result of depletion of folate stores. In vitro experiments ruled out an assay artifact as an explanation for the alcohol-induced fall in serum L. casei folate level. It seems likely that alcohol interferes with the delivery of n-5-methyltetrahydrofolic acid from storage areas.

Acetaldehyde↗
PubMed2003

Low serum folate levels as a risk factor for depressive mood in patients with chronic epilepsy.

This study takes into consideration whether low serum folate levels may contribute to depressive mood in patients with chronic epilepsy. The serum folate levels and the score on the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) were examined in 46 patients with chronic epilepsy. Patients with a score indicating at least minor depression on the SDS had a significantly lower serum folate level than patients with a normal score on SDS. There was a significant negative correlation between the serum folate levels and the SDS score. A serum folate level below 7.5 ng/ml was significantly associated with a pathological score on SDS. Because a serum folate level of 7.5 ng/ml is in the normal range for many laboratories, further studies using total plasma homocysteine as a sensitive measure of functional folate deficiency are required to elucidate the impact of folate metabolism on depressive mood in patients with chronic epilepsy.

Adult↗
PubMed2007

The association between serum folate levels and periodontal disease in older adults: data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001/02.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the relationship between serum folate levels and periodontal disease in older adults. DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional study. SETTING: National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey 2001/02. PARTICIPANTS: Eight hundred forty-four dentate elderly subjects aged 60 and older (mean age 70.6) who completed a periodontal examination and laboratory test for serum folate levels. MEASUREMENTS: Periodontal examination, including probing depth and attachment loss, was performed. Periodontal disease was defined as having at least 10% of sites with clinical attachment loss of more than 4 mm and at least 10% sites with probing depth of more than 3 mm. Serum folate levels were measured using a commercially available radioprotein binding assay kit. RESULTS: After controlling for demographics, educational level, body mass index, bleeding on probing, and probing sites, the odds ratio for periodontal disease was 0.74 (95% confidence interval=0.59-0.93) for each standard deviation increase in natural-log-transformed folate levels. After additionally controlling for levels of vitamin B(12) and homocysteine, chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart disease, and stroke), and health behaviors (smoking status and alcohol consumption), the negative association between folate level and periodontal disease remained statistically significant and essentially unchanged. There was no effect modification of sex on the association between serum folate levels and periodontal disease. CONCLUSION: A low serum folate level was independently associated with periodontal disease in older adults. The results suggest that serum folate levels, important indicators of periodontal disease in older adults, may provide an important clinical target for intervention to promote oral health.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Effect of sodium ascorbate concentration on the stability of samples for determination of serum folate levels.

Sodium ascorbate can be used as a preservative of patient samples for folate assay when freezing of serum is impractical. To evaluate the effect of sodium ascorbate on folate levels in human serum, it was added to pooled human sera in 1 g/l increments from 0 to 10 g/l serum. Free folate levels remained constant when the sodium ascorbate concentration was 6 g or less per liter of serum. At more than 6 g/l serum, free folate levels decreased. Bound folate levels increased when sodium ascorbate levels were 4 g/l or less, but remained stable at more than 4 g/l. A sodium ascorbate concentration of 5.0 +/- 1 g/l serum provided optimal preservation of folate in patient samples, indicated by obtaining constant values for four days when serum was kept at room temperature.

Ascorbic Acid↗
PubMed1988

Serum folate levels in normal full-term pregnant Chinese women.

Serum folate levels were determined by a radio-isotopic assay method and then analysed in 253 normal full-term pregnant women. None of them had received any hematonic during their whole pregnancy period. Their mean age was 27.72 years and the mean pregnancy duration was 39.50 weeks. Mean hemoglobin concentration in these normally pregnant women was 12.54 g%. Mean serum folate was 8.57 ng/ml. In this study, 7.51% (19 out of the 253) of the normally pregnant women had a folate level less than 3 ng/ml, and only 2 of them had clinical anemia (Hb less than 11 g%), and one of them also had serum ferritin less than 12 ng/ml. Thus pure folic acid deficiency anemia in pregnant women may be very rare in Chinese. Neither multiparity, age, nor gravida number played any role in the occurrence of folate deficiency. There would appear to be a slight positive relationship between folate levels and hemoglobin concentration in pregnant Chinese women.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Low serum folate levels: a risk factor for sudden sensorineural hearing loss?

OBJECTIVE: Ischemic vascular damage of the inner ear is one of the known causes of sensorineural sudden hearing loss (SSHL). Folate is an emerging risk factor associated with an increased risk of vascular damage. The aim of this study was to investigate whether low serum folate levels are associated with SSHL. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Serum folate levels were determined in 43 patients with SSHL and in 24 controls. RESULTS: Folate levels were found to be significantly lower in SSHL patients than in controls (mean difference -1.96 ng/ml; 95% CI -3.31, -0.59 ng/ml; p = 0.006). No significant relationship between folate levels and either sex, age, cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption or hypertension was observed, while a significant relationship was found between low folate levels and high homocysteine (HCY) levels in all 43 patients (p < 0.01). The potential influence of low folate levels on hearing impairment in SSHL patients can be explained by the effects on HCY metabolism and the diminution of folate antioxidant capacity. CONCLUSION: Further studies are needed to elucidate whether low folate levels can be considered a risk factor for SSHL.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Serum folate levels in horses, with particular reference to the English thoroughbred.

The assay of serum folate has been used to investigate the folate status of thoroughbreds in training to race, in-foal thoroughbred mares at stud and crossbred ponies kept permanently at grass. Throughbreds in training, with no obvious haematological or clinical abnormalities, had lower serum folate levels (mean 3.3, range 1.5 to 6.1 microgram per litre) compared with thoroughbred mares at stud (mean 10.6, range 6.4 to 15.8 microgram per litre) and crossbred ponies at grass (mean 10.9, range 7.4 to 16.6 microgram per litre. Intensive exercise, over a period of six months, significantly decreased serum folate levels (P less than 0.001) and significantly increased the levels of bilirubin (P less than 0.0001) and PCV (P less than 0.0002) in a group of 30 thoroughbred racehorses. Haptoglobin levels showed no significant changes.

Animal Feed↗
PubMed1976

Serum folate levels. Comparison of microbiologic assay and radioisotope kit methods.

Serum folate levels were measured prospectively in 72 patients and six normal controls using the Lactobacillus casei microbiologic method and a commercially available sequential-binding radioassay kit method. Values between 0 and 14 ng/ml (0 and 31.78 nmol/l) (clinically significant range) obtained by the microbioassay and sequential-binding radioassay were analyzed statistically. The data suggest that comparable values are obtained by the two technics (Y = 0.9 X where Y = radioassay value). Data obtained by the sequential-binding radioassay and a competitive protein-binding radioassay kit were then compared and subjected to statistical analysis. Values obtained by the two radioassay methods were found to be comparable clinically, but significantly different statistically. The authors conclude that these commercially available radioassay kits for measuring serum folate yield reliable values that can be applied to the clinical evaluation of patients with anemia, and can be readily performed in a clinical radioisotope laboratory.

Biological Assay↗
PubMed2005

Vitamin B12 and folate serum levels in newly admitted psychiatric patients.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Deficiencies of cobalamin and folate may play a causal role in the development or exacerbation of psychiatric illnesses. We compared cobalamin and folate levels in newly admitted psychiatric patients to mentally healthy controls and assessed their correlation with various psychiatric conditions. METHODS: All patients consecutively admitted to a psychiatric hospital were examined for serum cobalamin and folate levels. Controls were obtained from a population with no known mental illness. Values were considered to be below normal if cobalamin was <223 pg/ml and folate <3.1 ng/ml. RESULTS: The 224 newly admitted patients did not differ significantly from controls, both with regard to the mean cobalamin level and to the prevalence of lower than normal levels. About 30% of patients had low folate values compared to 2.5% in the control group (P<0.0001). Mean folate level in controls was significantly higher than in patients (P<0.0001), where a positive correlation was found between low folate levels and depression. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study suggest that folate levels be assessed in patients admitted to psychiatric wards, especially in those with depression. Further study is needed to evaluate the role of folate and cobalamin in psychiatric illness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Serum folate levels and subsequent adverse cerebrovascular outcomes in elderly persons.

Recent epidemiologic studies have shown an association between low serum folate levels and risk of vascular disease, including stroke and various types of vascular cognitive impairment. We examined data from the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA), a population-based, prospective 5-year investigation of the epidemiology of dementia among Canadians aged 65+ years. The risk of an adverse cerebrovascular event (including vascular dementia, vascular cognitive impairment, or fatal stroke) during follow-up, was assessed according to serum folate quartiles among subjects with no evidence of dementia at baseline (n = 369). After adjusting for certain covariates, including cardiovascular disease and nutritional indices, education, smoking and baseline cognitive status, the risk estimate for an adverse cerebrovascular event associated with the lowest folate quartile compared with the highest quartile was OR 2.42 (95% CI 1.04-5.61). Results from stratified analyses also showed that relatively low serum folate was associated with a significantly higher risk of an adverse cerebrovascular event among female (OR 4.02, 95% CI 1.37-11.81) but not male (OR 1.02, 95% CI 0.25-4.13) subjects. Among the total sample, there was a consistent trend toward poorer health and cognitive outcomes during follow-up (including mortality, cognitive decline and dementia) among those in the lowest folate quartile compared with the highest quartile. Low serum folate levels are independently associated with a significantly higher risk of an adverse cerebrovascular event, including vascular dementia and stroke death, among older, cognitively vulnerable persons.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Serum folate levels after UVA exposure: a two-group parallel randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Photodegradation of certain vitamins such as riboflavins, carotinoids, tocopherol, and folate has been well-documented. Previous observations suggest that ultraviolet (UV) radiation may cause folate deficiency. This is of great importance since folate deficiency is also known to be linked with the development of neural tube defects. To investigate the influence of UVA radiation on serum folate levels in vivo, we conducted a two-group randomised controlled trial on healthy subjects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-four healthy volunteers with skin type II were enrolled into the study. Eight volunteers of the study population were randomly assigned to the control group. UVA irradiation was administered with an air-conditioned sunbed. Blood samples were taken from all volunteers at baseline (T1), 30 min after the first UVA exposure (T2), and at the end of the study 24 h after the sixth UV exposure (T3). The volunteers had two UVA exposures weekly within three weeks (cumulative UVA dose: 96 J/cm2). Volunteers of the control group had no UVA exposures. Serum folate was analysed with an automated immunoassay system. RESULTS: At all times of blood collection the differences between serum folate levels were insignificant (P > 0.05), except of the non-exposed controls at T2 (P < 0.05). We did not observed significant differences of folate levels between UVA exposed and non-exposed volunteers (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that both single and serial UVA exposures do not significantly influence serum folate levels of healthy subjects. Therefore, neural tube defects claimed to occur after periconceptual UVA exposure are probably not due to UVA induced folate deficiency.

Adult↗
PubMed1970

Megaloblastic anaemia of pregnancy: a clinical and laboratory study with particular reference to the total and labile serum folate levels.

It has been shown that the incidence of megaloblastic anaemia in a group of 463 randomly selected pregnant women receiving iron was 12 times as high as in a control group of 235 pregnant women receiving iron and folic acid. The incidence of all types of anaemia in the women receiving iron alone was more than three times the incidence in those having iron and folic acid. Some women who were not anaemic or who had normoblastic anaemia had serum folate levels in the same range as the women with megaloblastic anaemia, but none of the women with megaloblastic anaemia had high serum folate levels. The labile fraction of the serum folate was no more reliable than the total serum folate as a diagnostic criterion of megaloblastic erythropoiesis in the individual case. The blood group distribution in the women with megaloblastic anaemia was the same as in the general population. Babies born to mothers with megaloblastic anaemia tended to be smaller than the rest, although there was no difference in the placental weights. The significance of these findings is discussed.

Anemia, Macrocytic↗
PubMed2001

Interplay between methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene polymorphism 677C-->T and serum folate levels in determining hyperhomocysteinemia in heart transplant recipients.

BACKGROUND: Homocysteine metabolism is often impaired in heart transplant recipients, and increased total homocysteine plasma levels may constitute a risk factor for the development of heart allograft vascular disease. Although 677C-->T transition in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is associated with increased homocysteine levels in the general population, it is unclear whether MTHFR polymorphism influences homocysteine metabolism after heart transplant. METHODS: Homocysteine, serum folate, renal function, concentrations of cyclosporine and its metabolites, and MTHFR genotype were determined in 57 heart transplant recipients (age, 55 +/- 11 yr; 21% women; time from transplant, 48 +/- 42 months). RESULTS: Forty nine percent of the study population presented with hyperhomocysteinemia. Homocysteine was 17.1 +/- 5.9 micromol/liter, 19.4 +/- 4.9 micromol/liter, and 26.3 +/- 14.2 micromol/liter for genotypes CC, CT, and TT, respectively (p = 0.028, Kruskal-Wallis test). At multivariate analysis, MTHFR genotype was independently associated with homocysteine (p = 0.005). When the study population was divided into 2 groups accordingly to serum folate levels (above/below the median value of 6.1 ng/ml), MTHFR genotype remained a significant predictor of homocysteine only in patients with low serum folate (p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that hyperhomocysteinemia is frequent in heart transplant recipients and that the 677C-->T transition in the MTHFR gene independently and unfavorably influences homocysteine metabolism in this group of patients. Adequate folate intake may overcome genetic predisposition to hyperhomocysteinemia.

Adult↗