Serum Homocysteine Concentration of US Adults Associated with Fortified Cereal Consumption

Background: Elevated serum total homocysteine (tHcy) concentration is implicated in the etiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A significant food source of B-vitamins involved in homocysteine metabolism is ready-to-eat cereal (RTEC) in the U.S. Objective: To test the hypothesis that tHcy concentration is inversely associated with RTEC intake and blood B-vitamin levels in the U.S. general population. Design: A cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999–2000). Data were stratified according to age and gender. Men and women ≥ 19 y (n = 4,218) were classified as RTEC consumers (RTEC-C; n = 824) and RTEC non-consumers (RTEC-NC; n = 3,394) based on 24-hr dietary recall. Results: Forty nine percent of participants showed folate intake with below the estimated average requirements (EARS). Serum folate and red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations were increased with age in both genders, and significantly higher among RTEC-C than RTEC-NC (p < 0.05). Mean tHcy concentration increased with age, and was significantly lower among both men and women RTEC-C than among RTEC-NC. In multivariate linear regression analyses, RTEC consumption strongly predicted serum folate and tHcy concentrations. Conclusion: tHcy concentrations were significantly lower in RTEC-C among the majority of age/gender groups than in RTEC-NC. RTEC consumption may potentially reduce the risk for CVD, mediated through tHcy.

背景：血清总同型半胱氨酸（tHcy）浓度升高与心血管疾病（CVD）的病因有关。在美国，参与同型半胱氨酸代谢的B族维生素的一个重要食物来源是即食谷物（RTEC）。 目的：验证在美国普通人群中，tHcy浓度与即食谷物摄入量以及血液中B族维生素水平呈负相关这一假设。 设计：一项横断面研究，使用来自美国国家健康与营养检查调查（NHANES 1999 - 2000）的数据。数据根据年龄和性别进行分层。年龄≥19岁的男性和女性（n = 4218）根据24小时膳食回顾被分为即食谷物消费者（RTEC - C；n = 824）和即食谷物非消费者（RTEC - NC；n = 3394）。 结果：49%的参与者显示叶酸摄入量低于估计平均需求量（EARs）。血清叶酸和红细胞（RBC）叶酸浓度在两性中均随年龄增长而升高，且在即食谷物消费者中显著高于非消费者（p < 0.05）。平均tHcy浓度随年龄增长而升高，在即食谷物消费者中的男性和女性中均显著低于非消费者。在多元线性回归分析中，即食谷物的消费强烈预示着血清叶酸和tHcy浓度。 结论：在大多数年龄/性别组中，即食谷物消费者的tHcy浓度显著低于非消费者。即食谷物的消费可能通过tHcy潜在地降低心血管疾病的风险。