Objective: To evaluate the effect of weekly administration of 5 mg. folic acid (FA) intake on folic acid blood levels.
Material and methods: This concurrent comparative study was conducted in 1998, in urban and rural areas of Nuevo Leon State, Mexico. The study population consisted of 74 women who delivered a child during 1997, 39 of whom had a child with a neural tube defect. Women were given 5 mg. of folic acid, weekly for 3 months. Blood levels of folic acid were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA) at baseline, and a week after taking the last folic acid dose. Data are presented as means and standard deviations.
Results: Ninety per cent of the women had significantly increased folic acid intraerythrocytary blood levels. Red cell folate increased from 150.49 +/- 31.17 ng/ml to 184.21 +/- 35.53 ng/ml (p < 0.005). Plasma folate increased from 5.93 +/- 1.98 ng/ml a 7.03 +/- 2.5 ng/ml (p < 0.05). Eighty-two per cent of women reached intracellular levels above 160 ng/ml.
Conclusions: The weekly administration of folic acid is a simple and efficient method that could be used to supplement this vitamin to low-income populations. The English version of this paper is available at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html.