Effect of folic acid on appetite in children: ordinal logistic and fuzzy logistic regressions.
OBJECTIVE
Reduced appetite and low food intake are often a concern in preschool children, since it can lead to malnutrition, a leading cause of impaired growth and mortality in childhood. It is occasionally considered that folic acid has a positive effect on appetite enhancement and consequently growth in children. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of folic acid on the appetite of preschool children 3 to 6 y old.


METHODS
The study sample included 127 children ages 3 to 6 who were randomly selected from 20 preschools in the city of Tehran in 2011. Since appetite was measured by linguistic terms, a fuzzy logistic regression was applied for modeling. The obtained results were compared with a statistical ordinal logistic model.


RESULTS
After controlling for the potential confounders, in a statistical ordinal logistic model, serum folate showed a significantly positive effect on appetite. A small but positive effect of folate was detected by fuzzy logistic regression. Based on fuzzy regression, the risk for poor appetite in preschool children was related to the employment status of their mothers.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, a positive association was detected between the levels of serum folate and improved appetite. For further investigation, a randomized controlled, double-blind clinical trial could be helpful to address causality.
Department of Biostatistics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mahshid
M
Namdari
Department of Health and Community Medicine, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: alireazaabadi@gmail.com.
Alireza
A
Abadi
Department of Basic Engineering Science, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, and Department of Mathematical Sciences, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.
S Mahmoud
SM
Taheri
Chronic Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mansour
M
Rezaei
Department of Community Nutrition, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Naser
N
Kalantari
Department of Community Nutrition, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Nasrin
N
Omidvar
D000886:Anthropometry; D001066:Appetite / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D017143:Fuzzy Logic; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male
D005492:Folic Acid
Appetite; Children; Folic acid; Fuzzy logistic regression; Linguistic variable; Ordinal logistic model