FOLATEAND VITAMINB12STATUSOF ADOLESCENTGIRLSINNORTHERN NIGERIA

Thediets ofpopulations inmanydeveloping countries arelowinfolate andvitamin B12and adeficiency ofeither ofthese vitamins results inincreased risk for cardiovascular disease and neural tube defects. Therates ofneural tube defects inNigeria areamong the highest reported worldwide. Since many girls marry atanearly ageinnorthern Nigeria, wetherefore determined thefolate andvitamin B12status ofadolescent girls between 12and16years ofagein Maiduguri, Nigeria. Themeanserum folate concentration for subjects was15.3 +5.2nmol/L. Whereas only four subjects (2.4%) hadserum folate concentrations lower than 6.8nmol/l, a level indicative ofnegative folate balance, 9%ofthe subjects hadserum vitamin B12concentrations atorbelow 134pmol/L, the lower limit ofthe reference range for their agegroup. Serum homocysteine wasmeasured in56ofthe162subjects andthemeanlevel was15.9 + 5.0 ,umol/L. Themajority ofsubjects hadserum homocysteine concentrations above the upper limit ofthereference range for their agegroup. Weconclude that the adolescent girls westudied were atgreater risk for vitamin B12deficiency than folate deficiency. This conclusion isconsistent with the fact that their diet included fewfoods that contained vitamin B12.JNatl MedAssoc. 2000;92:334-340.)