Folate and Homocysteine Status among the Egyptian Adults

Background: Folate is a key nutrient that plays a major role in promoting health, prevention of neural tube defects in infants, and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases among adults and the elderly. Objective: The aim was to assess the dietary folate status among the Egyptian adults and its relation to some laboratory parameters. Subjects: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 100 apparently healthy Alexandria University employees of both sexes. Data was collected for socio-economic characteristics and dietary intake was assessed by a 24-h recall method. Blood samples were collected from participants and serum folate was analyzed using a microbiological assay, while High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was used for the determination of homocysteine. Results: The mean dietary folate intake of participants was 257.6 ± 126.9 µg/day with higher intake among males than females. Overall mean serum folate level was 9.7 ± 5.7 nmol/l and folate deficiency identified among 21% of participants. The mean homocysteine level of the participants was 12.8 ± 4.8 µmol/l and hyperhomocysteinemia was present in 54% of the whole sample. Women in childbearing age had a higher mean dietary folate intake than that in older females (252.9± 135.6 vs. 234.5± 91.3µg/day respectively) and only 15.1% of them had adequate folate intake. Conclusions: The highest percentage of participants had folate intake lower than RDA. Favorable serum folate was detected in most of the participants while more than half of participants had hyperhomocysteinemia.