Sukumar, Nithya, Adaikalakoteswari, Antonysunil, Venkataraman, Hema, Maheswaran, Hendramoorthy and Saravanan, Ponnusamy (2016) Vitamin B12 status in women of childbearing age in the UK and its relationship with national nutrient intake guidelines : results from two National Diet and Nutrition Surveys. BMJ Open, 6 (8). e011247. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011247 ISSN 2044-6055.
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Abstract
Objective To assess serum B12, folate and the associated homocysteine (Hcy) levels among women of childbearing age in the UK and examine their association with dietary intake in relation to the UK Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNIs) for B12 and folate.
Design Cross-sectional study.
Setting Data from two publicly available National Diet and Nutrition Surveys (NDNS 2000/2001 and 2008/2012) were used. These were population-based surveys of randomly selected samples of adults which were carried out in their households.
Participants Women of childbearing age (aged 19–39 years), representative of the UK population. Those who were pregnant or breastfeeding were excluded.
Outcome measures The associations between micronutrient intakes and blood levels of B12, folate and Hcy were assessed by correlation and stepwise linear regression. B12 intake was divided into quintiles and plotted against blood B12 and Hcy concentrations to determine the threshold of any associations.
Results 299 women from the first NDNS cohort had complete intake and biomarker data. The prevalence of serum vitamin B12 (≤150 pmol/L) and serum folate (≤10 nmol/L) deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia (≥12 µmol/L) was 12.4%, 6.4% and 21.2%, respectively, despite seemingly adequate B12 intakes (median 3.8 μg/day, 96% consumed more than the UK RNI of 1.5 μg/day). B12 concentrations increased across all quintiles of intake with serum levels in quintiles 4 and 5 (median intake 4.9 and 7.1 μg/day, respectively) significantly higher than quintile 1. However, Hcy concentrations levelled off between quintiles 4 and 5. Comparison of micronutrient intake between the two surveys found that folate intake has reduced in the more recent cohort.
Conclusions The UK RNI for B12 intake should be increased for women of childbearing age with intakes of around 5–7 μg/day likely to be associated with stable biomarker levels. B12 levels should also be measured in women preconceptionally or in early pregnancy given the high rates of deficiency.
Item Type: | Journal Article |
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Subjects: | Q Science > QP Physiology |
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences > Population, Evidence & Technologies (PET) Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Vitamin B12, Diet -- Women |
Journal or Publication Title: | BMJ Open |
Publisher: | BMJ |
ISSN: | 2044-6055 |
Official Date: | 12 August 2016 |
Dates: | Date Event 12 August 2016 Published 14 June 2016 Accepted 22 January 2016 Submitted |
Volume: | 6 |
Number: | 8 |
Article Number: | e011247 |
DOI: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011247 |
Status: | Peer Reviewed |
Publication Status: | Published |
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons open licence) |
Date of first compliant deposit: | 18 October 2016 |
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 19 October 2016 |
Open Access Version: | |
URI: | https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/82170/ |
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