title: Folate deficiency among institutionalized elderly. Public health impact.
abstract: All patients 65 years and older who had been living in an institution for at least six months had a measurement of red blood cell folate (RBCF), serum folate (SF), vitamin B12, hemoglobin, and mean corpuscular volume. Twenty-two percent of the 97 studied subjects were found deficient in RBCF, although only 6% had anemia. Length of stay at the institution was significantly associated with deficiency in RBCF and this association was uncon-founded by age. The proportion of RBCF deficiency among the studied subjects attributable to length of stay is 80%. The prophylactic administration of folate among long-term nursing home type of patients should be considered.
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D011792:Quebec; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014805:Vitamin B 12