Homocysteine and vitamin B 12 status and iron deficiency anemia in female university students from Gaza Strip, Palestine

AUTOR(ES)

Sirdah, Mahmoud Mohammed, Yassin, Maged M., Shekhi, Sabreen El, Lubbad, Abdel Monem

FONTE

Rev. Bras. Hematol. Hemoter.

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2014-06

RESUMO

OBJECTIVE: Nutritional deficiencies are very significant to the overall health of humans at all ages and for both genders, yet in infants, children and women of childbearing age these deficiencies can seriously affect growth and development. The present work is aimed to assess homocysteine and vitamin B12 status in females with iron deficiency anemia from the Gaza Strip.METHODS: Venous blood samples were randomly collected from 240 female university students (18-22 years old) and parameters of the complete blood count, serum ferritin, homocysteine and vitamin B12 were measured. Statistical analysis included the t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the IBM SPSS software (version 18). Statistical significance was set for p-values <0.05.RESULTS: The results revealed that 20.4% of the students have iron deficiency anemia. The mean serum vitamin B12 level in females with iron deficiency anemia (212.9 ± 62.8 pg/mL) was significantly lower than in normal controls (286.9 ± 57.1 pg/mL) and subjects with microcytic anemia and normal ferritin (256.7 ± 71.1 pg/mL). Significantly higher serum homocysteine levels were reported in the iron deficiency anemia group (27.0 ± 4.6 µmol/L) compared to normal controls (15.5 ± 2.9 µmol/L) and in subjects with microcytic anemia and normal ferritin (18.1 ± 2.7 µmol/L). Statistically significant negative correlations were reported for serum homocysteine with serum ferritin, vitamin B12, hemoglobin, and hematocrit levels.CONCLUSION: Important associations were found between serum homocysteine and markers of iron deficiency. Monitoring homocysteine levels might be essential to understand the development of different clinical conditions including anemia. It seems necessary to conduct prospective trials to determine whether treating anemia ameliorates homocysteine levels.

Documentos Relacionados

• Comment on: Homocysteine and vitamin B 12 status and iron deficiency anemia in female university students from Gaza, Palestine
• Iron deficiency anemia among kindergarten children living in the marginalized areas of Gaza Strip, Palestine
• Comments on: iron deficiency anemia among kindergarten children living in the marginalized areas of Gaza Strip, Palestine
• Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, and Zinc Composition of Erythrocytes in Vitamin B12 Deficiency and Iron Deficiency*
• Betaine-Homocysteine Transmethylase in Pseudomonas denitrificans, a Vitamin B12 Overproducer