Vitamin B 12 and Folate status of older New Zealand women

The primary aim of this study was to assess the biochemical vitamin B 12 and folate status of a representative group of elderly women (70-80 y) living in Dunedin, New Zealand. A second aim was to determine the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinaemia and to explore the determinants of homocysteine (hcy) concentration in this population. A cross-sectional study was carried out between June and August of 2000. Two hundred and fifty women were randomly selected from the 1998 electoral roll. Fasting blood samples were analysed for folate, vitamin B 12 , total hcy, creatinine, and haematological parameters. Of the women selected, 87 did not respond, 37 were not traceable, 23 were not eligible or had died, and 103 agreed to participate. The overall response rate was 46%. Based on a cut-off of 150 pmol/L for serum B 12 , 13 % of participants would be classified as having sub-optimal vitamin B 12 status. Of the women, 3 and 5 %, respectively, had low serum (<6.6 nmol/L) and erythrocyte folate (<317 nmol/L) concentrations. No participant had megaloblastic anaemia. The prevalence of hyperhomocysteinaemia (>15 µmol/L) in this population was 18%. Hyperhomocysteinaemia in this group may be partly explained by renal insufficiency because there was a significant association between serum creatinine and plasma hcy (P<0.001). Blood folate levels but not serum B 12 were significantly inversely associated with hcy. In conclusion, there was a moderately high prevalence of hyperhomocysteinaemia and suboptimal plasma vitamin B 12 concentrations but not low blood folate concentrations in this elderly female population

Vitamin B12 and folate status of older New Zealand women.

The primary aim of this study was to assess the biochemical vitamin B12 and folate status of a representative group of elderly women (70-80 y) living in Dunedin, New Zealand. A second aim was to determine the prevalence of hyperhomocysteinaemia and to explore the determinants of homocysteine (hcy) concentration in this population. A cross-sectional study was carried out between June and August of 2000. Two hundred and fifty women were randomly selected from the 1998 electoral roll. Fasting blood samples were analysed for folate, vitamin B12, total hcy, creatinine, and haematological parameters. Of the women selected, 87 did not respond, 37 were not traceable, 23 were not eligible or had died, and 103 agreed to participate. The overall response rate was 46%. Based on a cut-off of 150 pmol/L for serum B12, 13% of participants would be classified as having sub-optimal vitamin B12 status. Of the women, 3 and 5%, respectively, had low serum ( 15 mumol/L) in this population was 18%. Hyperhomocysteinaemia in this group may be partly explained by renal insufficiency because there was a significant association between serum creatinine and plasma hcy (P < 0.001). Blood folate levels but not serum B12 were significantly inversely associated with hcy. In conclusion, there was a moderately high prevalence of hyperhomocysteinaemia and suboptimal plasma vitamin B12 concentrations but not low blood folate concentrations in this elderly female population

Learning to eat intuitively: A qualitative exploration of the experience of mid-age women

Qualitative studies examining women’s experiences of learning to eat more intuitively are scarce. We aimed to explore the experience of learning intuitive eating among mid-age women ( n  = 11) who participated in a web-based intuitive eating programme. Motivation to learn intuitive eating, perceptions of the experience of attempting to eat more intuitively, and facilitators and barriers to intuitive eating were explored using inductive thematic analysis. Findings suggest that women were able to learn to eat more intuitively; however, they encountered social and environmental barriers, and the ‘unconditional permission to eat’ aspect of intuitive eating was experienced as the most challenging

Impact of mixed survey modes on physical activity and fruit/ vegetable consumption: a longitudinal study

"It is recommended that researchers who use mixed modal methods for data collection compare their impact on outcome measures. The purpose of this study was to examine the physical activity and fruit/ vegetable consumption behaviors of a multiethnic sample of adults, comparing participants who continued a telephone survey and those who transitioned from a telephone to a web-based survey for a follow-up data collection point. This longitudinal study used a random sample of 700 Hawaii residents (63.3% Female; Mean age=47, SD=17.1). At baseline, participants completed a computer-assisted telephone interview assessing the stage, behavior, and decisional balance of both physical activity and fruit/ vegetable consumption. For the three-month follow-up survey, participants were given the option of completing the survey either on the web or by phone. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed for related physical activity scales and fruit/ vegetable consumption variables to compare the change in response across time between a web group and phone group. For both physical activity and fruit/ vegetable consumption, all mode-by-time interactions were significant). The participants who preferred the telephone survey maintained their levels, whereas those who preferred the web survey reported a decrease in each variable. These results suggest that changing the mode of a survey may introduce a systematic bias in data and that researchers should proceed with caution when using mixed modes of data collection." (author's abstract