Folacin and iron status of adolescents from low-income rural households (1–3)

The folacin and iron status of 179 black and white adolescents from low-income rural households was evaluated. Red blood cell folacin concentrations were less than 140 ng/ml in 45% of the subjects and 56% of the serum folacin levels were less than 6 ng/ml. Twenty-five percent of all females had low (<16%) transferrin saturation levels in contrast to 12% of the males. Transferrin saturation increased as the male adolescents matured and decreased as the females matured (p<0.05). Anemia (Hb<12 g/dl) was identified in 13% of the black adolescents in contrast to 2% of the whites. Mean cell hemoglobin concentrations and mean cell volumes were lower (p<0.05) in the blacks than in the whites. These findings demonstrate that both folacin and iron inadequacies occur in a significant proportion of this low-income rural adolescent population group.