Differences in Folate and Vitamin B12 Serum Levels Between Mothers Whose Children were Diagnosed with Non-syndromic Cleft Lip and Cleft Lip with Palate

Abstract

Non-syndromic (NS) cleft lip (CL) and cleft lip with palate (CLP) are abnormalities in the orofacial area that are not accompanied by abnormalities in the head and neck and have normal physical growth and cognitive development. Cleft lip and CLP are caused by two factors, genetic and environmental factors which include deficiencies of micronutrients such as folate and vitamin B12. This study aimed to determine the differences in folate and vitamin B12 serum levels between mothers whose children were diagnosed with NS CL and CLP. An analytical observational study was conducted on folate and vitamin B12 serum levels from 44 mothers whose children were diagnosed with NS CL and CLP. Data were analyzed by t-test for folate serum levels and Mann Whitney for vitamin B12 serum levels. All mothers whose children were diagnosed with non-syndromic CL and CLP, respectively, had normal serum folate levels. Meanwhile, most of the mothers suffered from vitamin B12 deficiency, both mothers whose children were diagnosed with CL (91.6%) and mothers whose children were diagnosed with CLP (93.75%). The mean folate serum level between CL was slightly higher than CLP (p-value = 0.711) but showed no statistical difference in folate levels in the two groups. The median B12 levels between CLP were slightly higher (p-value = 0.394), which indicated that the B12 levels between the two groups were not statistically significant. There were no differences in folate and vitamin B12 serum levels between mothers whose children were diagnosed with non-syndromic cleft lip and cleft lip with palate.
 Keywords: Folate, B12, CL, CLP