TABLE 3.
Anemia and vitamin B-12 and folate status in women of reproductive age1
| GM (95% CI) or n (%) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | Total (n = 979) | Rural (n = 787) | Urban (n = 192) | P 2 | |
| Hemoglobin,3 g/dL | 979 | 11.9 (11.7, 12.0) | 11.8 (11.7, 11.9) | 12.1 (11.8, 12.4) | 0.07 |
| <12.0 g/dL | 406 (41.5) | 332 (42.2) | 74 (38.5) | 0.36 | |
| <8.0 g/dL | 29 (3.0) | 27 (3.4) | 2 (1.0) | 0.08 | |
| RBC folate,4 nmol/L | 977 | 540.5 (526.2, 555.1) | 528.5 (513.0, 544.4) | 592.3 (557.8, 628.9) | 0.0009 |
| <305 nmol/L | 74 (7.6) | 62 (7.9) | 12 (6.3) | 0.44 | |
| <748 nmol/L | 775 (79.3) | 635 (80.9) | 140 (72.9) | 0.01 | |
| Serum folate,4 nmol/L | 977 | 16.5 (16.0, 17.0) | 17.0 (16.4, 17.6) | 14.8 (13.8, 15.9) | 0.0007 |
| <7 nmol/L | 34 (3.5) | 28 (3.6) | 6 (3.1) | 0.76 | |
| Serum vitamin B-12, pmol/L | 978 | 156.0 (150.3, 162.0) | 155.0 (148.7, 161.6) | 160.2 (147.3, 174.4) | 0.49 |
| <148 pmol/L | 472 (48.3) | 386 (49.1) | 86 (44.8) | 0.28 | |
| <221 pmol/L | 727 (74.3) | 583 (74.2) | 144 (75.0) | 0.81 | |
| Vitamin B-12 and RBC folate deficient | 47 (4.8) | 39 (5.0) | 8 (4.2) | 0.64 | |
| Vitamin B-12 and RBC folate insufficient | 622 (63.7) | 510 (65.0) | 112 (58.3) | 0.09 | |
| Vitamin B-12 or RBC folate deficient | 499 (51.1) | 409 (52.1) | 90 (46.9) | 0.19 | |
| Vitamin B-12 or RBC folate insufficient | 880 (90.1) | 708 (90.2) | 172 (89.6) | 0.80 | |
| Vitamin B-12 ≥148 pmol/L and RBC folate <748 nmol/L | 355 (36.3) | 285 (36.3) | 70 (36.5) | 0.97 | |
| Vitamin B-12 ≥221 pmol/L and RBC folate <748 nmol/L | 153 (15.7) | 125 (15.9) | 28 (14.6) | 0.65 | |
| Vitamin B-12 <148 pmol/L and RBC folate ≥748 nmol/L | 52 (5.3) | 36 (4.6) | 16 (8.3) | 0.04 | |
| Vitamin B-12 <221 pmol/L and RBC folate ≥748 nmol/L | 105 (10.8) | 73 (9.3) | 32 (16.7) | 0.003 | |
1
Values are GMs (95% CI) or n (%). Total (ns) are true sample ns. Results outside assay limits of detection (LOD) were set to 0.50 × LOD (if below LOD) or 2 × LOD (if above LOD); results outside assay LODs: serum folate (n = 1 below LOD), vitamin B-12 (n = 4 below LOD, n = 6 above LOD). GM, geometric mean.
2
Chi-square statistics and 1-factor ANOVA were used to evaluate differences in categorical and continuous variables, respectively; hemoglobin, serum folate, RBC folate, and vitamin B-12 were natural logarithmically transformed prior to analyses.
3
Hemoglobin values from complete blood count; adjusted for smoking status (49).
4
Microbiological assay.