ArticlePublic health nutrition2019
Folic acid deficiency declined substantially after introduction of the mandatory fortification programme in Queensland, Australia: a secondary health data analysis.
Article in Public health nutrition, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Biological, dietetic and pharmacological properties of vitamin BNPJ science of food · 2025Review
- Got Mylk? The Emerging Role of Australian Plant-Based Milk Alternatives as A Cow's Milk Substitute.Nutrients · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo investigate the prevalence of folic acid deficiency in Queensland-wide data of routine laboratory measurements, especially in high-risk sub-populations.
designSecondary health data analysis.
settingAnalysis of routine folic acid tests conducted by Pathology Queensland (AUSLAB).
participantsFemale and male persons aged 0-117 years with routine folic acid testing between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2015. If repeat tests on the same person were conducted, only the initial test was analysed (n 291 908).
resultsOverall the prevalence of folic acid deficiency declined from 7·5 % before (2004-2008) to 1·1 % after mandatory folic acid fortification (2010-2015; P < 0·001) reflecting a relative reduction of 85 %. Levels of erythrocyte folate increased significantly from a median (interquartile range) of 820 (580-1180) nmol/l in 2008 before fortification to 1020 (780-1350) nmol/l in 2010 (P < 0·001) after fortification. The prevalence of folic acid deficiency in the Indigenous population (14 792 samples) declined by 93 % (17·4 v. 1·3 %; P < 0·001); and by 84 % in non-Indigenous residents (7·0 v. 1·1 %; P < 0·001). In a logistic regression model the observed decrease of folic acid deficiency between 2008 and 2010 was found independent of gender, age and ethnicity (ORcrude = 0·20; 95 % CI 0·18, 0·23; P < 0·001; ORadjusted = 0·21; 95 % CI 0·18, 0·23; P < 0·001).
conclusionsWhile voluntary folic acid fortification, introduced in 1995, failed especially in high-risk subgroups, the 2009 mandatory folic acid fortification programme coincided with a substantial decrease of folic acid deficiency in the entire population.
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