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Folate Levels in Patients Hospitalized with Coronavirus Disease 2019

Eshcar Meisel1,2, Orly Efros1,2,3, Jonathan Bleier1,2

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine "D", Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan 52621, Israel.

Nutrients
|April 3, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Low folate levels are common in hospitalized Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, but do not appear to impact clinical outcomes. Further research is needed to understand folate

Area of Science:

  • Internal Medicine
  • Nutritional Biochemistry
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Folate plays a crucial role in cellular metabolism and DNA synthesis.
  • Deficiencies in essential vitamins can impact patient outcomes, particularly in severe infections like Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the prevalence of decreased folate levels in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
  • To evaluate the association between folate levels and clinical outcomes in this patient cohort.
  • To assess the prognostic significance of varying folate levels in COVID-19 patients.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study utilizing electronic medical records.
  • Inclusion of 333 hospitalized patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection.
  • Analysis of serum folate levels and correlation with clinical outcomes such as acute kidney injury, hypoxemia, ventilation, length of stay, and mortality.

Main Results:

  • 11.4% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients exhibited low folate levels.
  • No significant differences in adverse clinical outcomes or mortality were observed between patients with low and normal folate levels.
  • Analysis across folate level quartiles yielded similar findings, indicating no clear association with outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Decreased serum folate levels are prevalent in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.
  • Serum folate levels were not associated with clinical outcomes in this study population.
  • Monitoring or supplementing folate in hospitalized COVID-19 patients may warrant consideration, pending further investigation into its role and consequences.

Keywords:
COVID-19SARS CoV-2epidemicfolatefolate deficiencyfolic acidfolic acid deficiencyhypoxemiainvasive ventilation

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