Serum Folate Shows an Inverse Association with Blood Pressure in a Cohort of Chinese Women of Childbearing Age: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: PloS one 2016-05, Vol.11 (5), p.e0155801-e0155801
• Main Authors: Shen, Minxue, Tan, Hongzhuan, Zhou, Shujin, Retnakaran, Ravi, Smith, Graeme N, Davidge, Sandra T, Trasler, Jacquetta, Walker, Mark C, Wen, Shi Wu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Adult; Age; Age Factors; Analysis; Anthropometry; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Automation; Biology and Life Sciences; Biomarkers; Blood; Blood Pressure; Body mass index; Cardiovascular disease; Child development; China - epidemiology; Cholesterol; Cohort Studies; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demographics; Dietary supplements; Epidemiology; Female; Folic acid; Folic Acid - blood; Food intake; Gynecology; Health care; Homocysteine; Hospitals; Humans; Hypertension; Immunoassay; Lifestyles; Maternal & child health; Medicine and Health Sciences; Nutrition; Obstetrics; People and Places; Physical Sciences; Pregnancy; Preventive medicine; Principal components analysis; Public health; Public Health Surveillance; Regression analysis; Regression models; Research and Analysis Methods; Sex Factors; Studies; Systematic review; Teenagers; Women; Women's health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155801

It has been reported that higher folate intake from food and supplementation is associated with decreased blood pressure (BP). The association between serum folate concentration and BP has been examined in few studies. We aim to examine the association between serum folate and BP levels in a cohort of young Chinese women. We used the baseline data from a pre-conception cohort of women of childbearing age in Liuyang, China, for this study. Demographic data were collected by structured interview. Serum folate concentration was measured by immunoassay, and homocysteine, blood glucose, triglyceride and total cholesterol were measured through standardized clinical procedures. Multiple linear regression and principal component regression model were applied in the analysis. A total of 1,532 healthy normotensive non-pregnant women were included in the final analysis. The mean concentration of serum folate was 7.5 ± 5.4 nmol/L and 55% of the women presented with folate deficiency (< 6.8 nmol/L). Multiple linear regression and principal component regression showed that serum folate levels were inversely associated with systolic and diastolic BP, after adjusting for demographic, anthropometric, and biochemical factors. Serum folate is inversely associated with BP in non-pregnant women of childbearing age with high prevalence of folate deficiency.