Folic acid nutrition in marasmic infants

To determine the prevalence of low folic acid levels in infants with marasmic malnutrition and to study its response to daily supplements of folic acid, a group of 80 malnourished infants 2 to 22 months of age were studied. In 12.5% of the group, serum folic acid levels were under 3ug/l and in 16.3%, red cell folic acid levels were under 140ug/l. In a sub group of 28 infants we determined the levels of folic acid on admission and discharge from a nutritional recovery center. During their hospital stay (median 117 days with a range of 94 to 130) infants received exclusively cow's milk with a daily supplement of 100ug of folic acid. On discharge, a significant increase of serum folic levels to normal values was observed. A similar improvement, but not to the same extent, was appreciated in red cell folates. Inadequate quantity of supplementation or short time of observation could explain the lack of complete correction in the erythrocyte folic concentration.