Food behavior and folate status of hill-tribe schoolchildren and women of childbearing age on the northern border of Thailand.
An insight into the folate nutritional status of the population is important from a public health perspective. The protective effect of folate against neural tube defects (NTDs) is widely recognized. To assess the health and nutritional status, especially folate status, of vulnerable hill-tribe groups, a cross-sectional study was conducted on 197 schoolchildren and 136 women of childbearing age in Chaloem Phra Kiat District, Nan Province, Thailand. The nutritional status of the study group was investigated by dietary survey, and blood samples were taken to determine hematocrit, protein, and serum and red blood cell folate. Anthropometric measurements were taken to assess body size, composition and nutritional indexes. The health and nutritional status of the hill-tribe schoolchildren and women of childbearing age were found to be unacceptable, particularly inregard to folate status, which was indicated by low folate levels found in the blood samples, and in the intake of this micronutrient.
Department of Tropical Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. tmkkb@mahidol.ac.th
Karunee
K
Kwanbunjan
Apanchanid
A
Thepouyporn
Kriyaporn
K
Songmuaeng
Wanyarat
W
Nakosiri
Cheeraratana
C
Cheeramakara
Yupa
Y
Chusongsang
Pikul
P
Laisupasin
Sirirat
S
Tunsakul
Yaowamarn
Y
Chantaranipapong
Somchai
S
Pooudong
Kanjana
K
Hongtong
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D044382:Population Groups; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D049629:Waist-Hip Ratio
D005492:Folic Acid