Total serum homocysteine, folic acid and vitamin B12 levels and its association with diet in children aged 6-15 years old

Papandreou, Dimitrios
Παπανδρέου, Δημήτριος

Open link

Publication date

January 2008

DOI

10.12681/eadd/25525

Publisher

Αριστοτέλειο Πανεπιστήμιο Θεσσαλονίκης (ΑΠΘ)

Abstract

Homocysteine (Hcy) is an intermediary product of metabolism of methionine. Hyperhomocysteinemia has been characterized in the last 20 years as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adult individuals. However, data from studies in children and adolescents is limited. The aim of this study was to investigate, for the first time in Greece, the distribution of serum total homocysteine levels (tHcy), in schoolchildren aged, 6-15 years old and to determine the relation between tHcy levels and the various factors that possibly influence its levels, for example age, sex, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), dietary intake as well as the levels of serum folic aci...