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Acid‐lowering Agent Use and Vitamin B 12 Status Among Puerto Rican Adults
Author(s) -
Xiao Rui,
Reeves Katherine W.,
BertoneJohnson Elizabeth,
Noel Sabrina E.,
Tucker Katherine L.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.847.22
Subject(s) - medicine , puerto rican , vitamin d deficiency , methylmalonic acid , vitamin , vitamin b , population , cross sectional study , demography , vitamin d and neurology , vitamin b12 , environmental health , sociology , anthropology , pathology
Vitamin B 12 deficiency affects approximately 6% of adults over 60 years of age and is associated with several chronic diseases. Puerto Ricans are the second largest Hispanic subgroup in the US and have been identified as having excess chronic conditions. Prior studies suggest that use of acid‐lowering agents (ALAs) may be associated with increased risk of vitamin B 12 deficiency, but this relationship has not been examined among Puerto Ricans. We conducted a cross‐sectional analysis to evaluate the relationship between ALA use and vitamin B 12 status among 1390 Puerto Rican adults aged 45–75 years. Serum B 12 and methylmalonic acid (MMA) concentrations were assayed from blood samples. B 12 deficiency was defined as Serum B 12 < 200 pg/mL or < 350 pg/mL plus MMA >; 270 pM/ml. The prevalence of B 12 deficiency was 8.2%, but greater in older than in younger adults (11.8% for 60–75 y, and 7.2% for 45–60 y). Current ALA users tended to have lower serum B 12 concentrations as compared to nonusers (P=0.25), but ALA use was not significantly associated with prevalence of B 12 deficiency in the full sample. When examined in non‐supplement users (n=1343), vitamin B 12 deficiency is prevalent in this population and may be aggravated by ALA use without concomitant use of vitamin B 12 supplements. This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health grants P01 AG023394 and P50 HL105185. Grant Funding Source : National Institutes of Health grants P01 AG023394 and P50 HL105185