ArticleThe Journal of nutrition2015
Obesity is associated with increased red blood cell folate despite lower dietary intakes and serum concentrations.
Article in The Journal of nutrition, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.
- Folic acid supplementation in European women of reproductive age and during pregnancy with excessive weight: a systematic review.Reproductive health · 2025Pooled it
- Maternal folate status and obesity/insulin resistance in the offspring: a systematic review.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2016Pooled it
- Folic acid polyglutamylation triggers MAP2K5 signaling to induce adipocyte lipid catabolism.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Association of iron status with gestational diabetes and preeclampsia in an obesogenic context: Results from a cohort of pregnant Chilean women.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2026Article
- Dietary and other lifestyle correlates of serum folate levels among female students at An-Najah National University in Palestine: a cross-sectional study.BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- One-carbon metabolism and risk of PCOS: insights from Mendelian randomization.Journal of ovarian research · 2025Article
- Vitamin BClinical nutrition ESPEN · 2025Observational
- Association between RBC folate and odds of osteoarthritis in adults aged 40-60 years.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Red blood cell folate and visceral adipose tissue among young and middle-aged American adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Age-specific associations of RBC folate and several serum folate forms with obesity risk: NHANES 2011-2018.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Association between RBC folate and diabetic nephropathy in Type2 diabetes mellitus patients: a cross-sectional study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Folate and Vitamin B12 Levels in Chilean Women with PCOS and Their Association with Metabolic Outcomes.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Contribution of obesity to racial and ethnic disparities in the risk of fetal myelomeningocele: a population-based study.AJOG global reports · 2024Article
- The Effect of Folic Acid Supplementation on Endothelial Function and Arterial Stiffness Markers in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Childhood Obesity and Essential Micronutrients: Insights from India's Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (2016-18).Diabetes therapy : research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders · 2023Article
- Association between dietary intakes of B vitamins and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in postmenopausal women: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Metabolic Interaction Between Folate, Vitamin B12, and Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Pregnancy.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Article
- Association between android fat mass, gynoid fat mass and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in adults: NHANES 2003-2007.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2023Article
- Suppression of high-fat-diet-induced obesity in mice by dietary folic acid supplementation is linked to changes in gut microbiota.European journal of nutrition · 2022Article
- Central adiposity increases the odds for plasma folate deficiency among Chinese women of reproductive age.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundFolates are essential cofactors in metabolic pathways that facilitate biological methylation and nucleotide synthesis, and therefore have widespread effects on health and diseases. Although obesity is prevalent worldwide, few studies have investigated how obesity interacts with folate status.
objectiveBased on data from the NHANES, this study aims to examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and obesity-related metabolic factors with blood folate status.
methodsA nationally representative sample of 3767 adults from the NHANES (2003-2006) was used as the study population. Regression analyses, with and without adjustment for demographic factors and dietary intakes, were performed to examine associations between BMI and metabolic factors with serum and RBC folate.
resultsThe results indicate serum folate concentrations were lower in obese groups compared to the desirable BMI and overweight categories, paralleling lower intakes in this group. In contrast, RBC folate increased incrementally with BMI. Regression analyses demonstrated an inverse relation between BMI and serum folate but a positive relation for RBC folate (P < 0.01). Waist circumference, serum triglycerides, and fasting plasma glucose each displayed significant positive relations with RBC folate (P < 0.01), although relations with serum folate were not significant and consistent.
conclusionsIn summary, obesity is associated with decreased serum folate, which parallels decreased folate intakes. In contrast, obesity is positively associated with RBC folate. Therefore, RBC folate, in addition to serum folate, should also be considered as a critical biomarker for folate status, especially in the obese population. Future research is needed to understand how obesity differentially alters serum and RBC folate status because they are associated with a variety of medical complications.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.