Folate metabolism, the enterohepatic circulation and alcohol

Weir, Donald G.; McGing, P.; Scott, John M.

doi:10.1016/0006-2952(85)90092-9

Cited by 69 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…In one study, jejunal uptake of labeled folate was significantly lower in alcoholics consuming ethanol in conjunction with a folate-deficient diet compared to alcoholics consuming either ethanol with a folatesufficient diet or a folate-deficient diet without ethanol (Halsted et al, 1971(Halsted et al, , 1973. Similarly, rats fed folate-deficient diets supplemented with ethanol had significantly lower concentrations of biliary folates compared to ethanol-treated but folate-replete rats (Hillman et al, 1977;Weir et al, 1985). Some recent research has suggested that polymorphic genes involved in folate metabolism (eg methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase-MTHFR) may modify the relationship between dietary folate and breast cancer risk (Sharp et al, 2002;Semenza et al, 2003) as had previously been noted for colorectal cancer (Giovannucci, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Effects of moderate alcohol consumption on folate and vitamin B12 status in postmenopausal women

et al. 2004

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Background: Although alcohol intake has been positively associated with breast cancer risk in epidemiologic studies, a causal relationship has not been established, and the mechanisms mediating this association are speculative. Alcohol may act through altered status of folate and vitamin B 12 , two vitamins required for DNA methylation and nucleotide synthesis, and thus cell integrity. Although the effects of heavy alcohol intake on folate and vitamin B 12 status have been well-documented, few studies have addressed the effects of moderate alcohol intake in a controlled setting. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of moderate alcohol intake on folate and vitamin B 12 status in healthy, well-nourished, postmenopausal women. Design: The study design was a randomized, diet-controlled crossover intervention. Postmenopausal women (n ¼ 53) received three 8-week alcohol treatments in random order: 0, 15, and 30 g/day. Treatment periods were preceded by 2-5-week washout periods. Blood collected at baseline and week 8 of each treatment period was analyzed for serum folate, vitamin B 12 , homocysteine (HCY), and methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations. Results: After adjusting for body mass index (BMI), a significant 5% decrease was observed in mean serum vitamin B 12 concentrations from 0 to 30 g of alcohol/day (461.45730.26 vs 440.25730.24 pg/ml; P ¼ 0.03). Mean serum HCY concentrations tended to increase by 3% from 0 to 30 g of alcohol/day (9.4470.37 vs 9.7370.37 mmol/l; P ¼ 0.05). Alcohol intake had no significant effects on serum folate or MMA concentrations. Conclusions: Among healthy, well-nourished, postmenopausal women, moderate alcohol intake may diminish vitamin B 12 status. Sponsorship: NCI, NIH and ARS, USDA.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Effects of moderate alcohol consumption on folate and vitamin B12 status in postmenopausal women

et al. 2004

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“…However, the American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort has reported no association between folate intake and risk of breast cancer even among women who consumed alcohol (45). Alcohol may perturb folate metabolism through reducing intestinal absorption, increasing renal excretion (29), inhibiting methionine synthase in the liver (46,47), directly destroying folate (48), or interacting with tetrahydrofolate (46,49). In the Iowa Women's Health Study, the only published cohort study that has examined the interaction of folate intake, alcohol, and risk of breast cancer by hormone receptor status, there was no appreciable association with risk of ER + tumors at all levels of folate and alcohol, but there was an elevated risk of ER À tumors among women who had low intake of total folate and high intake of alcohol (50).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Alcohol is a known folate antagonist (28,29) and thus could plausibly increase the requirement for folate intake. Because of limited progress in the identification of risk factors for ER À breast cancer, we conducted a prospective analysis to evaluate folate intake in relation to breast cancer risk according to ER status in the Nurses' Health Study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Folate Intake and Risk of Breast Cancer Characterized by Hormone Receptor Status

Zhang

Hankinson

Hunter

et al. 2005

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Amp; Prevention

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Folate plays an important role in DNA methylation, and aberrant methylation of the estrogen receptor (ER) gene may be related to the loss of ER gene expression in breast tumors. Thus, deficient folate status has been hypothesized to be associated primarily with ER gene -negative breast tumors, but data relating folate intake to breast cancer risk according to ER status are sparse. We conducted a prospective cohort analysis of folate intake among 88,744 women in the Nurses' Health Study who completed a food frequency questionnaire in 1980 and every 2 to 4 years thereafter.

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“…Alcohol, a known folate antagonist (32,33), is thought to increase breast cancer risk, partly by influencing the absorption and metabolism of folate and interfering with one-carbon metabolism. When we compared women consuming !10 g alcohol/d ('0.75 g/drink) with those reporting ,1.5 g/d, we observed a statistically significant 60% increase in breast cancer risk (95% CI: 1.31, 1.94; P for trend 0.0001; Table 1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Folate and one-carbon metabolism nutrients from supplements and diet in relation to breast cancer risk

Maruti

Ulrich

White

2009

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

103

114

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Background: Few epidemiologic studies have examined very high intakes of folate and whether consumption of nutrients involved in one-carbon metabolism is associated with breast cancer risk. Objective: We prospectively examined whether the consumption of folate and nutrients involved in one-carbon metabolism (methionine, riboflavin, and vitamins B-6 and B-12) from self-reported intakes of diet (in year before baseline) and supplements (averaged over 10 y before baseline) were associated with the incidence of breast cancer and breast cancer tumor characteristics. Design: Participants were 35,023 postmenopausal women aged 50-76 y in the VITamins And Lifestyle (VITAL) cohort study; breast cancer was diagnosed in 743 of these women between baseline (2000-2002) and 2006. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate multivariable-adjusted relative risks (RRs) and 95% CIs. Results: Women consuming !1272 dietary folate equivalents (DFE)/d of total folate (10-y average) had a 22% decrease in breast cancer risk compared with women consuming 345 DFE/d (RR: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.99; P for trend ¼ 0.05). A greater benefit was observed for estrogen-receptor (ER) negative than for ER1 breast cancers (RR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.18, 0.80; P for trend ¼ 0.02; P ¼ 0.02 for the difference between ER2 and ER1). Neither current intakes of folate nor current or long-term intakes of other one-carbon nutrients were significantly associated with breast cancer risk. Multivitamin use attenuated the increased risk of breast cancer associated with alcohol drinking (P for interaction ¼ 0.02). Conclusions: Our study of predominantly supplement users suggests that high intakes of folate averaged over 10 y do not increase breast cancer risk, but may be protective, particularly against ER2 breast cancers.

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Folate metabolism, the enterohepatic circulation and alcohol

Cited by 69 publications

References 86 publications

Effects of moderate alcohol consumption on folate and vitamin B12 status in postmenopausal women

Effects of moderate alcohol consumption on folate and vitamin B12 status in postmenopausal women

Folate Intake and Risk of Breast Cancer Characterized by Hormone Receptor Status

Folate and one-carbon metabolism nutrients from supplements and diet in relation to breast cancer risk

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