Red Cell Folate Values of a Group of Non Pregnant Mothers

The study investigated tissue folate levels of non pregnant women and related them to socioeconomic background, diet and reproductive history. The subjects were 82 mothers recruited from the city of Moncton belonging to three socioeconomic groups. Plasma and red cell folate values were higher in the group of privileged women and the differences were of statistical significance for red cell but not for plasma folate. About 20% of all the women showed red cell folate values suggestive of folate depletion. This finding was more pronounced among the underprivileged women who tended also to have a lower folate intake, especially of fruits and fruit juices. However, dietary differences, as calculated did not account for the observed differences in red cell folate among the three socioeconomic groups. This is attributed to inaccuracies in the information available on food folate content. Oral contraceptive users tended to have lower plasma and red cell folate values than non users but the differences observed were not statistically significant. Predictors of red cell folate in stepwise multiple regression analyses were the education of the woman, a reflection of socioeconomic status in this population, the age of the youngest child and the interval between the last two children. The age of the woman and the interval between the last two children were plasma folate predictors. These findings suggest that repletion of folate storage after pregnancy is a slow process and that more attention should be given to the folate status of women beyond pregnancy. Cette étude a essayé de mesure le taux d'acide folique du plasma et des erythrocytes d'un groupe de mères de la ville de Moncton en tenant compte de leur niveau socio-économique, de leur diète et de leur histoire reproductive. L'échantillon comprend 82 sujets provenant de trois niveaux socio-économiques différents. Le groupe de mères appartenant à la classe socio-économique la plus élevée a un taux d'acide folique des erythrocytes, mais pas du plasma, plus élevé que les deux autres groupes. Environ 20% des mères ont un taux d'acide folique des erythrocytes assez bas pour suggérer une carence en acide folique. Ceci est plus prononcé chez les mères les plus défavorisées, leur diête pauvre en fruits et jus de fruits a tendance à être plus pauvre en acide folique. Cependant, les différentes diètes, telles qu'elles ont été calculées, n'expliquent pas statistiquement les différences dans le taux d'acide folique des erythro