title: Evaluation of vitamin B12 status in Egypt IV: food consumption patterns among lactating mothers and their impact on the intake of the vitamin.
abstract: The adequacy of vitamin B12 intake was assessed among 62 lactating mothers in the 2-32 weeks of lactation by an interactive 24-h recall and an open-ended food frequency questionnaire. Double portions of the foods consumed were sampled and assayed microbiologically for its vitamin B12 content. Based on the food item and its respective vitamin B12 content, combined with the usual portion size in grams and the frequency of consumption, a rapid calculator of approximate dietary vitamin B12 intake was developed. The estimated vitamin B12 intake averaged 4.17+/-0.74 microg/d. Only 25.8% of the lactating mothers had adequate vitamin B12 intake (>2.5 microg vitamin B12 daily). Three quarter of the studied population were consuming vitamin B12<2.5 microg/d. Out of those, 50% had estimated daily intake <2.0 microg/d. This percentage prevalence confirms the additional burden on the lactating mothers to satisfy the daily vitamin B12 requirement for its breast-fed baby.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, National Research Center, Giza, Egypt.
authors.forename: Sahar Abdel
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Aziz
authors.forename: Laila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hussein
mesh_terms: D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D004534:Egypt; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007774:Lactation; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000032:analysis; D014806:Vitamin B 12 Deficiency / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D014805:Vitamin B 12