title: Plasma homocysteine levels in female patients with eating disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine plasma homocysteine, vitamin B(12), and folate levels in females with restricting and bingeing/purging eating disorders (EDs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Adolescent and adult female patients were compared to appropriate control groups with regard to plasma homocysteine levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The plasma homocysteine level of the adult ED patients was higher than that of controls for all age groups examined. In adolescents, no significant difference was found comparing ED patients younger than 16 years of age to control data, whereas in the 16-20 year age group, the plasma homocysteine level was significantly higher among the ED group, regardless of the type of ED. Vitamin B(12) and folate levels were within normal limits in all ED groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Elevated plasma homocysteine levels were found in adult and older adolescent female ED patients (but not in younger adolescents) compared to controls. This finding is not related to deficiencies in vitamin B(12) or folate.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel. yossilevine@gmail.com
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Eitan
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gur
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Loewenthal
authors.forename: Tali
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vishne
authors.forename: Tzvi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dwolatzky
authors.forename: Ingrid M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: van Beynum
authors.forename: Ben-Ami
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Sela
authors.forename: Iris
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vered
authors.forename: Galit
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yosef
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015519:Bone Density; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D006710:Homocysteine; D005492:Folic Acid; D014805:Vitamin B 12