Folate intakes and folate biomarker profiles of pregnant Japanese women in the first trimester

Abstract

Objective: To assess the status of dietary folate intake, serum and red blood cell (RBC) folate, and related nutritional biomarkers in healthy Japanese women in early pregnancy. Design: A cross-sectional, observational study. Subjects: Pregnant women in the first trimester, at 7-15 weeks gestation (n ¼ 70), who were not consuming any folate supplements or folate fortified foods. Methods: Three-day dietary records were obtained from each subject to assess dietary folate intake. Blood samples were collected for measurement of biomarkers. Biomarkers and nutrient intake were analyzed in two groups defined by their serum folate concentrations: the low folate group (serum folate o9 ng/ml) and the high folate group (serum folate X9 ng/ml). Result: Mean serum and RBC folate concentrations in all subjects were 10.3 and 519 ng/ml, respectively. These levels were remarkably higher than the reported values from many other countries despite our subjects receiving no folic acids supplements. However, mean folate intake by our subjects from natural foods was 289 mg/day, which is thought to be low according to the Japanese dietary recommendation specified for pregnant women. The intake of spinach and fruits was significantly greater in the high folate group than in the low folate group. Conclusion: Folate intake was thought to be adequate to maintain a desirable level of serum folate concentration in Japanese pregnant women in the first trimester, although the intake of folate from natural food was not high enough to meet the recommended daily intake.

Folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in smoking‐exposed pregnant women: A systematic review

“…Of the remaining 95 papers, 63 were excluded on the basis of the full text. The remaining 32 articles are included in this review, as shown in Supplemental S1 (Adaikalakoteswari et al, ; Ambroszkiewicz, Chelchowska, Lewandowski, Gajewska, & Laskowska‐Klita, ; Baker et al, ; Bakker et al, ; Bergen et al, ; Bodnar et al, ; Coker et al, ; Dayaldasani et al, ; Frery et al, ; D. Furness et al, ; D. L. Furness, Yasin, Dekker, Thompson, & Roberts, ; Gadowsky et al, ; Hay et al, ; Jauniaux, Johns, Gulbis, Spasic‐Boskovic, & Burton, ; Knight et al, ; Knudtson et al, ; Larroque et al, ; Matsuzaki et al, ; McDonald, Perkins, Jodouin, & Walker, ; Mito et al, ; Nilsen et al, ; Ozerol, Ozerol, Gokdeniz, Temel, & Akyol, ; Pagan, Hou, Goldenberg, Cliver, & Tamura, ; Prasodjo et al, ; Relton et al, ; Sram, Binkova, Lnenickova, Solansky, & Dejmek, ; Stark et al, ; Stark, Pawlosky, Sokol, Hannigan, & Salem Jr., ; Van Uitert et al, ; van Wersch, Janssens, & Zandvoort, ; Vandevijvere, Amsalkhir, Van Oyen, & Moreno‐Reyes, ; Yila et al, ).…”

Intake and blood concentrations of folate and their association with health-related behaviors in Korean college students

“…Kimchi and rice are the main sources of folate in Koreans, which contributed about 30~40% of folate intake [24]. Mito et al [28] reported that the mean serum and RBC folate concentrations in Japanese pregnant women who were not consuming folic acid supplements were 10.3 and 519 ng/mL, respectively, which were higher than reported in other countries.…”

Awareness and uptake of measures for preventing CNS birth defects among mothers of affected children in a sub-Saharan African neurosurgeon’s practice

“…One might have expected the women with higher parity and or educational attainment to have more reproductive health knowledge in this respect. It is also evident that the uptake of any dietary supplements whatever is very low (about 10 %) among this study population, and that their current low consumption levels of possible natural food sources of FA could not be hoped to serve them well in achieving the optimal serum folate levels for preventing the NTDs [20,26,27].…”