Abstract

CUEVAS-NASU, Lucía et al. Prevalence of folate and vitamin B12 deficiency in Mexican children aged 1 to 6 years in a population-based survey. Salud pública Méx [online]. 2012, vol.54, n.2, pp.116-124. ISSN 0036-3634.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the magnitude and distribution of folate and vitamin B12 deficiency in Mexican children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Folate and vitamin B12 serum concentrations were measured in a probabilistic sample of 2 099 children. Adjusted prevalence, mean concentrations and relevant associations were calculated based on series of logistic and linear regression models. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of folate and vitamin B12 deficiency were 3.2% and 7.7%, respectively. The highest prevalence of folate was found in the 2-year-old (7.9%), and of vitamin B12 in the 1 year-old (9.1%) groups. Being a beneficiary of the fortified milk program Liconsa was protectively associated with serum folate (p=0.001) and daily Intake of milk with vitamin B12 (p=0.002) concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: We describe the magnitude of folate and vitamin B12 deficiencies in Mexican children. The deficiency of both vitamins in children under 2 years old is a moderate public health problem in Mexico.

Keywords : Vitamin B12 deficiency; folate deficiency; children; probabilistic surveys; Mexico.

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