search
for
 About Bioline  All Journals  Testimonials  Membership  News


African Health Sciences
Makerere University Medical School
ISSN: 1680-6905
EISSN: 1680-6905
Vol. 11, No. 2, 2011, pp. 240 - 243
Bioline Code: hs11036
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge

African Health Sciences, Vol. 11, No. 2, 2011, pp. 240 - 243

 en Reference values for Serum levels of Folic acid and Vitamin B12 in a young adult Ugandan population
Galukande, M.; Jombwe, J.; Fualal, J.; Baingana, R. & Gakwaya, A.

Abstract

Introduction: Reference values may vary significantly among populations and cultures for which dietary intakes may be different. Each laboratory is expected to investigate the transferability of the expected values to its own patient population and if necessary determine its own reference ranges. This study sought to establish Folic acid and Vitamin B12 reference values for young Ugandan adults, which reference values could be used as baseline information for future research, especially related to their role in breast cancer prevention.
Methods: A cross sectional study in which 200 undergraduate student volunteers were enrolled. The minimum sample size was 126 using the Open Epi version 2. Relevant demographics and physical examination parameters were taken as well as blood samples for laboratory tests. Prior ethical approval was granted.
Results: The levels of folic acid were 4.17 20ng/ml and remained constant over the age cohorts. The vitamin B12 range was 117-1158pg/ml. Both ranges were comparable to ranges seen in other populations.
Conclusion: In as much as the dietary intake for this study population is presumed different from populations in the western countries, the ranges for these two vitamins were similar.

Keywords
Reference Serum levels, Folic acid, Vitamin B12

 
© Copyright 2011 African Health Sciences.

Home Faq Resources Email Bioline
© Bioline International, 1989 - 2024, Site last up-dated on 01-Sep-2022.
Site created and maintained by the Reference Center on Environmental Information, CRIA, Brazil
System hosted by the Google Cloud Platform, GCP, Brazil