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.
Kwanbunjan
Karunee
K
Department of Tropical Nutrition and Food Science, Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand. tmkkb@mahidol.ac.th
Thepouyporn
Apanchanid
A
Songmuaeng
Kriyaporn
K
Nakosiri
Wanyarat
W
Cheeramakara
Cheeraratana
C
Chusongsang
Yupa
Y
Laisupasin
Pikul
P
Tunsakul
Sirirat
S
Chantaranipapong
Yaowamarn
Y
Pooudong
Somchai
S
Hongtong
Kanjana
K
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