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Measures of adiposity and body fat distribution in relation to serum folate levels in postmenopausal women in a feeding study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 62, pages 644–650 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To assess the associations between serum folate concentration and measures of adiposity in postmenopausal women.

Design:

This study was conducted as a cross-sectional analysis within the control segment of a randomized, crossover trial in which postmenopausal women (n=51) consumed 0 g (control), 15 g (one drink) and 30 g (two drinks) alcohol (ethanol)/day for 8 weeks as part of a controlled diet. Subjects in one treatment arm were crossed-over to another arm after a 2- to 5-week washout period. Body mass index (BMI) was measured, and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan administered to the women during the control (0 g alcohol) treatment, and a blood sample from this group was collected at baseline and week 8 of each diet period and analyzed for folate, B12, homocysteine and methylmalonic acid.

Setting:

This study was conducted at the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center, MD, USA.

Results:

In multivariate analysis, women who were overweight had a 12% lower, and obese women had a 22% lower serum folate concentrations compared to normal weight women (P-trend=0.02). Vitamin B12 also decreased with increasing BMI (P-trend=0.08). Increased BMI, percent body fat, and absolute amounts of central and peripheral fat were all significantly associated with decreased serum folate, but were unrelated to serum B12, homocysteine or methylmalonic acid.

Conclusions:

Our data show that adiposity is associated with lower serum folate levels in postmenopausal women. With obesity at epidemic proportions, these data, if confirmed by prospective or randomized controlled studies, have important public health implications.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by the Intramural Program of the NIH and also funded in part by interagency agreement Y1-SC-8012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    S Mahabir

  2. New York Obesity Research Center, St Lukes Hospital Center, Columbia University, NY, USA

    S Ettinger

  3. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA

    L Johnson

  4. US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD, USA

    D J Baer & B A Clevidence

  5. Department of Nutrition, Pennsylvania State University, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    T J Hartman

  6. Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Genetic Epidemiology Branch, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA

    P R Taylor

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  1. S Mahabir
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  2. S Ettinger
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  3. L Johnson
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  4. D J Baer
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  5. B A Clevidence
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S Mahabir.

Additional information

Guarantor: PR Taylor.

Contributors: SM was involved in the data analysis, data interpretation and writing of the paper. LJ was involved with the data analysis. SE was involved with the data interpretation and writing of the paper. DJB, BAC, TJH and PRT were involved with the conceptualization, design, execution and interpretation of the data. None of the contributors declared any personal or financial conflict of interest.

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Mahabir, S., Ettinger, S., Johnson, L. et al. Measures of adiposity and body fat distribution in relation to serum folate levels in postmenopausal women in a feeding study. Eur J Clin Nutr 62, 644–650 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602771

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