PMID- 35464038
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20220429
IS  - 2296-861X (Print)
IS  - 2296-861X (Electronic)
IS  - 2296-861X (Linking)
VI  - 9
DP  - 2022
TI  - Folate, Vitamin B12, and Homocysteine Levels in Women With Neural Tube 
      Defect-Affected Pregnancy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
PG  - 873900
LID - 10.3389/fnut.2022.873900 [doi]
LID - 873900
AB  - BACKGROUND: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are prevalent congenital defects 
      associated with pre-pregnancy diet with low levels of maternal folate. They are 
      linked to severe morbidity, disability, and mortality, as well as psychological 
      and economic burdens. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine the 
      levels of folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in the blood of women who had a 
      pregnancy impacted by NTDs. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A hospital-based case-control 
      study was undertaken between September 2019 and August 2020. The study comprised 
      a total of 100 cases and 167 controls. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) 
      was used to determine the levels of folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in the 
      serum. RESULTS: Only 39% of the cases and 54.5% of control mothers reported 
      periconceptional use of folic acid/multivitamin, which indicated a statistically 
      significant difference (p = 0.014). Logistic regression indicated that 
      periconceptional use of folic acid/multivitamin was associated with NTDs (p = 
      0.015, OR = 1.873, 95% CI: 1.131-3.101). We found that 57% of the cases and 33.5% 
      of controls, as well as 43% of cases and 20.4% of controls had serum folate and 
      vitamin B12 levels below the cut-off value, respectively. Twenty-seven percent of 
      the cases and 6.6% of controls had hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy). The median 
      concentrations of folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in cases and controls 
      were 4.78 and 8.86 ng/ml; 266.23 and 455 pg/ml; 13.43 and 9.7 mumol/l, 
      respectively. The median concentration of folate (p < 0.001) and vitamin B12 (p < 
      0.001) were significantly lower in the cases than controls, while the 
      homocysteine concentration (p < 0.001) was significantly lower in the controls 
      than cases. Folate [OR (95% CI) = 1.652 (1.226-2.225; p = 0.001)], vitamin B12 
      [OR (95% CI) = 1.890 (1.393-2.565; p < 0.001], and homocysteine [OR (95% CI) = 
      0.191 (0.09-0.405; p < 0.001)] levels were associated with NTDs. CONCLUSION: 
      Folate and vitamin B12 are deficient in both cases and control mothers. The lower 
      levels of folate and vitamin B12 with an elevated homocysteine level in 
      NTD-affected pregnancy may be an indication that these biochemical variables were 
      risk factors for NTDs. Folate/multivitamin supplementation and/or food 
      fortification should be promoted.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2022 Kucha, Seifu, Tirsit, Yigeremu, Abebe, Hailu, Tsehay and Genet.
FAU - Kucha, Winner
AU  - Kucha W
AD  - Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis 
      Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
FAU - Seifu, Daniel
AU  - Seifu D
AD  - Biochemistry Division of Basic Sciences, University of Global Health Equity, 
      Kigali, Rwanda.
FAU - Tirsit, Abenezer
AU  - Tirsit A
AD  - Neurosurgery Unit, School of Medicine, College of Health Science, Addis Ababa 
      University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
FAU - Yigeremu, Mahlet
AU  - Yigeremu M
AD  - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, College of Health 
      Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
FAU - Abebe, Markos
AU  - Abebe M
AD  - Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
FAU - Hailu, Dawit
AU  - Hailu D
AD  - Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
FAU - Tsehay, Dareskedar
AU  - Tsehay D
AD  - Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
FAU - Genet, Solomon
AU  - Genet S
AD  - Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Addis 
      Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
DEP - 20220408
PL  - Switzerland
TA  - Front Nutr
JT  - Frontiers in nutrition
JID - 101642264
PMC - PMC9033285
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - ELISA
OT  - NTDs
OT  - folate
OT  - homocysteine
OT  - vitamin B12
COIS- The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any 
      commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential 
      conflict of interest.
EDAT- 2022/04/26 06:00
MHDA- 2022/04/26 06:01
PMCR- 2022/01/01
CRDT- 2022/04/25 05:27
PHST- 2022/02/11 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2022/03/08 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2022/04/25 05:27 [entrez]
PHST- 2022/04/26 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/04/26 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2022/01/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.3389/fnut.2022.873900 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Front Nutr. 2022 Apr 8;9:873900. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.873900. eCollection 2022.