title: Prevalence of riboflavin deficiency among Guatemalan elderly people and its relationship to milk intake.
abstract: Six groups of elderly subjects from central Guatemala were assessed for riboflavin status by using the erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity coefficient (EGRAC). The prevalence of riboflavin deficiency ranged from 50% to 76% among the free-living rural elderly subjects. Milk intake data that were collected from some of the subjects showed a significant correlation (P < 0.0001) between frequency of milk intake and riboflavin status. In a short-term riboflavin supplementation experiment in which nine riboflavin-deficient subjects were given 10 mg riboflavin/d for 3 d, all the subjects' EGRACs were normalized by the supplementation. However, they returned to a state of deficiency within 2 wk while consuming their usual diets without supplementation. It appears that the high prevalence of riboflavin deficiency in elderly Guatemalan people is caused by inadequate intake of riboflavin-rich foods such as dairy products, and that sufficient amounts of riboflavin need to be ingested regularly to maintain satisfactory riboflavin status.
authors.affiliation: USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111.
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Boisvert
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castañeda
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Langeloh
authors.forename: N W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Solomons
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Gershoff
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Russell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000201:enzymology; D005260:Female; D005980:Glutathione Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D006166:Guatemala / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008892:Milk; D012256:Riboflavin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012257:Riboflavin Deficiency / Q000453:epidemiology*
chemical_list: D005980:Glutathione Reductase; D012256:Riboflavin