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Plasma total homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 status in Korean adults.
J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2002 Aug; 48(4):290-7.JN

Abstract

Elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels have been established as a risk factor for occlusive cardiovascular disease. Also known is that plasma folate and vitamin B12 influence homocysteine metabolism as cosubstrate and cofactor, respectively. However, not much information is available describing plasma tHcy levels and their relationship to plasma folate and vitamin B12 status in Koreans. We measured the plasma levels of tHcy, folate, and vitamin B12 in 195 adults (99 males, 96 females; 23-72 y old in the lower middle class). The mean plasma tHcy levels of males, 11.18 +/- 3.88 micromol/L, was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than that of females, 9.20 +/- 2.65 micromol/L. The distribution of tHcy levels of males showed a wide range, 3-50 micromol/L, with a long tail toward higher values. Thus the incidence of hyperhomocysteinemia (> or = 5 micromol/L) in males, 10.1%, was significantly higher (< 0.02) than the 2.1% in females. As age increased, plasma tHcy levels tended to be higher in females. Therefore, sex differences in plasma tHcy levels disappeared in subjects over fifty. On the other hand, both plasma folate (6.47 +/- 3.06 vs 7.96 +/- 3.55 ng/mL, p < 0.01) and vitamin B12 levels (537.0 +/- 222.0 vs. 664.1 +/- 309.8 ng/mL, p < 0.01) were significantly lower in males than in females. A plasma folate deficiency (< 3.0 ng/mL) was found in 6.1% of males and 2.1% of females. And a vitamin B12 deficiency (< 150 pg/mL) was detected in 2.0% and 1.0%, respectively. Plasma tHcy levels were related with inversely plasma concentrations of folate (r = -0.37249, p < 0.001) as well as vitamin B12 (r = -0.22560, p < 0.01) in both sexes. Plasma levels of tHcy and the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia in Korean adults are similar to findings in the West. Our results indicate that male adults may be in worse condition for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than females. And improving folate and vitamin B12 status may reduce plasma tHcy level, which may be more important in males.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Lim HS
Department of Food and Nutrition, Chonnam National University, Yongbong-dong, Buk-gu Gwangju, 500-757, Korea. limhs@chonnam.ac.kr
Heo YR
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AdultAge FactorsAgedArea Under CurveCardiovascular DiseasesFemaleFolic AcidFolic Acid DeficiencyHomocysteineHumansHyperhomocysteinemiaIncidenceKoreaMaleMiddle AgedNutritional StatusPrevalenceSex FactorsVitamin B 12Vitamin B 12 Deficiency

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

12489820

Citation

Lim, Hyeon-Sook, and Young-Ran Heo. "Plasma Total Homocysteine, Folate, and Vitamin B12 Status in Korean Adults." Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, vol. 48, no. 4, 2002, pp. 290-7.
Lim HS, Heo YR. Plasma total homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 status in Korean adults. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2002;48(4):290-7.
Lim, H. S., & Heo, Y. R. (2002). Plasma total homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 status in Korean adults. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 48(4), 290-7.
Lim HS, Heo YR. Plasma Total Homocysteine, Folate, and Vitamin B12 Status in Korean Adults. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2002;48(4):290-7. PubMed PMID: 12489820.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Plasma total homocysteine, folate, and vitamin B12 status in Korean adults. AU - Lim,Hyeon-Sook, AU - Heo,Young-Ran, PY - 2002/12/20/pubmed PY - 2003/5/7/medline PY - 2002/12/20/entrez SP - 290 EP - 7 JF - Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology JO - J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) VL - 48 IS - 4 N2 - Elevated plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) levels have been established as a risk factor for occlusive cardiovascular disease. Also known is that plasma folate and vitamin B12 influence homocysteine metabolism as cosubstrate and cofactor, respectively. However, not much information is available describing plasma tHcy levels and their relationship to plasma folate and vitamin B12 status in Koreans. We measured the plasma levels of tHcy, folate, and vitamin B12 in 195 adults (99 males, 96 females; 23-72 y old in the lower middle class). The mean plasma tHcy levels of males, 11.18 +/- 3.88 micromol/L, was significantly higher (p < 0.001) than that of females, 9.20 +/- 2.65 micromol/L. The distribution of tHcy levels of males showed a wide range, 3-50 micromol/L, with a long tail toward higher values. Thus the incidence of hyperhomocysteinemia (> or = 5 micromol/L) in males, 10.1%, was significantly higher (< 0.02) than the 2.1% in females. As age increased, plasma tHcy levels tended to be higher in females. Therefore, sex differences in plasma tHcy levels disappeared in subjects over fifty. On the other hand, both plasma folate (6.47 +/- 3.06 vs 7.96 +/- 3.55 ng/mL, p < 0.01) and vitamin B12 levels (537.0 +/- 222.0 vs. 664.1 +/- 309.8 ng/mL, p < 0.01) were significantly lower in males than in females. A plasma folate deficiency (< 3.0 ng/mL) was found in 6.1% of males and 2.1% of females. And a vitamin B12 deficiency (< 150 pg/mL) was detected in 2.0% and 1.0%, respectively. Plasma tHcy levels were related with inversely plasma concentrations of folate (r = -0.37249, p < 0.001) as well as vitamin B12 (r = -0.22560, p < 0.01) in both sexes. Plasma levels of tHcy and the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia in Korean adults are similar to findings in the West. Our results indicate that male adults may be in worse condition for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than females. And improving folate and vitamin B12 status may reduce plasma tHcy level, which may be more important in males. SN - 0301-4800 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/12489820/Plasma_total_homocysteine_folate_and_vitamin_B12_status_in_Korean_adults_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -