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Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 24, No. 6, 503-509 (2005)
Published by the American College of Nutrition

Serum Homocysteine Concentration of US Adults Associated with Fortified Cereal Consumption

Won O. Song, PhD, Chin-Eun Chung, PhD, Ock Kyoung Chun, PhD and Susan Cho, PhD

Dept. Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing (W.O.S, C.-E.C., O.K.C.)
Nutrition Business Partner and Director of Nutrition, WK Kellogg Institution, Battle Creek (S.C.), Michigan

Address reprint requests to: Won O. Song, PhD, MPH, RD, Rm 131, G.M. Trout Bd., Michigan State University East Lansing, MI, 48824. E: mail: song{at}msu.edu

Background: Elevated serum total homocysteine (tHcy) concentration is implicated in the etiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A significant food source of B-vitamins involved in homocysteine metabolism is ready-to-eat cereal (RTEC) in the U.S.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that tHcy concentration is inversely associated with RTEC intake and blood B-vitamin levels in the U.S. general population.

Design: A cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999–2000). Data were stratified according to age and gender. Men and women ≥ 19 y (n = 4,218) were classified as RTEC consumers (RTEC-C; n = 824) and RTEC non-consumers (RTEC-NC; n = 3,394) based on 24-hr dietary recall.

Results: Forty nine percent of participants showed folate intake with below the estimated average requirements (EARS). Serum folate and red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations were increased with age in both genders, and significantly higher among RTEC-C than RTEC-NC (p < 0.05). Mean tHcy concentration increased with age, and was significantly lower among both men and women RTEC-C than among RTEC-NC. In multivariate linear regression analyses, RTEC consumption strongly predicted serum folate and tHcy concentrations.

Conclusion: tHcy concentrations were significantly lower in RTEC-C among the majority of age/gender groups than in RTEC-NC. RTEC consumption may potentially reduce the risk for CVD, mediated through tHcy.

Key words: ready-to-eat-cereal, fortification, homocysteine, folate, vitamin B-12, vitamin B-6






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