title: Kazakhstan: a folate-deficient area?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In the Republic of Kazakhstan, located in central Asia, the traditional diet consists mainly of meat, and vegetable intake tends to be deficient. This eating lifestyle may contribute to folate deficiency, which is closely linked to abnormal homocysteine (HCY) metabolism.
  
  
  METHODS
  In order to evaluate current folate status in the healthy Kazakh population, we screened serum folate and plasma HCY in 50 healthy Kazakh adults aged 20-65 years (KZH) and 60 healthy Japanese control subjects aged 27-65 years (JPN).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum levels of folate were significantly lower in KZH than in JPN (3.1 vs 10.0 ng/ml, P<0.01). Fifty of 61 (82.0%) subjects in KZH but none in JPN showed low concentrations of folate (<3.6 ng/ml). Plasma levels of HCY were significantly higher in KZH than in JPN (13.2 vs 7.8 nmol/ml, P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings strongly suggest that owing to the insufficient intake of vegetables, folate deficiency exists in Kazakhstan. Furthermore, hyperhomocysteinemia was observed in this group, probably owing to the secondary effects of folate deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Department of Therapy No. 2, Semipalatinsk State Medical Academy, Semipalatinsk, Republic of Kazakhstan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akilzhanova
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takamura
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhaojia
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Aoyagi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Karazhanova
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamashita
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D005494:Folic Acid Deficiency / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D020138:Hyperhomocysteinemia / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D007623:Kazakhstan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D014675:Vegetables
chemical_list: D006710:Homocysteine; D005492:Folic Acid