Nutritional assessment of folate and cyanocobalamin status in a Spanish elderly group

This study is part of a broader examination of the nutritional status of elderly people in Spain. Cyanocobalamin and folate status were determined in a group of 72 non-institutionalized elderly (34 males and 38 females), aged 65 to 89, living in the Comunidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain) by means of dietetic and biochemical data. We also studied the influence of the vitamin status on some haematologic parameters, as for example the MCV (mean corpuscular volume). Our results show that the average intake of vitamin B12 (6.3 +/- 0.9 micrograms/day) was three times the recommended amount, and that the blood levels were, in general, satisfactory (721.61 +/- 93 pg/ml). However, in 41.6% of the cases folate intake (213.8 +/- 92.4 micrograms/day) was below the recommended amount and serum (4.74 +/- 15 ng/ml) and red blood cells folate levels (115.37 +/- 36.7 ng/ml) also showed a deficient situation for 80% of the studied elderly. The influence of folate status on MCV of the studied elderly was evident. Elderly with MCV > or = 100 mu 3 (7.4% of the cases), had significantly lower intakes of folate (132.8 +/- 36.1 micrograms/day) and lower serum levels (3.93 +/- 0.4 ng/ml) than elderly with MCV < 100 mu 3 (who had intakes of 235.3 +/- 14.8 micrograms/day and serum levels of 4.81 +/- 1.48 ng/ml). Our results show that cyanocobalamin deficiency is not very frequent among the studied elderly, whereas folate deficiency has a great incidence and can have negative effects on their health.