RBC Folate’s Effect on Cardiovascular Disease
Zimon Li '26
Cardiovascular disease is one of the world’s top
killers, responsible for around 30% of deaths around the
globe. Understanding what you can do to protect your
heart, as it affects one of the body’s most vital
organs, is essential for a long and happy life.
Cardiovascular disease is one of the world’s top
killers, responsible for around 30% of deaths around the
globe. Understanding what you can do to protect your
heart, as it affects one of the body’s most vital
organs, is essential for a long and happy life.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in many minority groups such as the Hispanic, African American, and Native American communities.With less access to healthy food and pharmaceutical places many minority groups are the victims of vitamin deficiencies like hypovitaminosis D and calcium deficiency due to lactose intolerance, which also leads to other vitamins being deficient. Jim Crow laws and the Housing Act of 1934 contributed to an increased mortality rate by impeding access to education, proper healthcare, and proper food. These minority neighborhoods would also be exposed to pollution with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Barriers to treatments or access to healthy foods also form when it comes to language and immigration which are the leading causes of unemployment. In addition, stress is prominent in the majority of service industry jobs which leads to increased amounts of those with diabetes and obesity. These are both significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Folate is a vitamin that breaks down in your bloodstream and helps control your homocysteine levels. Homocysteine controls the contractile strength of your blood vessels. By consuming more folate your homocysteine levels lower which means that your blood vessels relax and decrease the risk of high blood pressure.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in many minority groups such as the Hispanic, African American, and Native American communities.With less access to healthy food and pharmaceutical places many minority groups are the victims of vitamin deficiencies like hypovitaminosis D and calcium deficiency due to lactose intolerance, which also leads to other vitamins being deficient. Jim Crow laws and the Housing Act of 1934 contributed to an increased mortality rate by impeding access to education, proper healthcare, and proper food. These minority neighborhoods would also be exposed to pollution with an increased risk for cardiovascular disease.
Barriers to treatments or access to healthy foods also form when it comes to language and immigration which are the leading causes of unemployment. In addition, stress is prominent in the majority of service industry jobs which leads to increased amounts of those with diabetes and obesity. These are both significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Folate is a vitamin that breaks down in your bloodstream and helps control your homocysteine levels. Homocysteine controls the contractile strength of your blood vessels. By consuming more folate your homocysteine levels lower which means that your blood vessels relax and decrease the risk of high blood pressure.
Aging has a detrimental effect on the heart and arterial
system, leading to an increase in a variety of
cardiovascular diseases (atherosclerosis, hypertension,
myocardial infarction, and stroke). Aging of the blood
vessels results in increased arterial thickening and
stiffness and dysfunctional endothelium (walls of the
arteries). These changes result in increased systolic
pressure (pressure during the contraction of the heart)
and present major risk factors for the development of
cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis,
hypertension and stroke, and atrial fibrillation.
However, some of these vitamins B12, B9, and B6 are protective factors in cardiovascular health. Among the elderly, vitamin B12 deficiency occurs in about 20% of the population; more than 60% are due to food-cobalamin malabsorption syndrome. Increased plasma homocysteine levels due to a lack of folate levels in the bloodstream have been recognized as an important risk factor for CVD. Studies demonstrated that a supplement consisting of 5 mg folic acid and 250 μg vitamin B12 lowered fasting plasma homocysteine levels by 32% after 12 weeks in patients with coronary artery disease. Few studies have been conducted that connect protective factors of B12 and B9 to cardiovascular disease in the NHANES data set. Connections between vitamin usage and ethnicities or socioeconomic status and other demographic factors have been minimally studied. The purpose of this study is to connect vitamin usage to cardiovascular disease and how socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or other demographic factors come into play.
Folate is a vitamin that breaks down in your bloodstream
and helps control your homocysteine levels.
This study aims to explore red blood cell (RBC) folate
levels as an indicator of cardiovascular disease in
multiple demographics of people. Data from the
prospective cohort study of the National Health and
Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-2020) was analyzed.
The association of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk
with RBC folate was estimated using logistic regression,
adjusting for multiple variables such as age, race, sex,
poverty income ratio, smoking status, BMI, and access to
health insurance. A total of 3271 patients with RBC
folate data that fit the data parameters were included.
There was a significant trend between increased RBC
folate levels and decreased risk of CHD disease (p
<0.035). Compared with the lowest quartile of RBC
folate, the multivariable-adjusted odds ratios and 95%
confidence intervals for CHD were 0.68 (95% CI 0.28 -
1.67) for the second quartile, 0.47 (0.16 – 1.37) for
the third quartile, and 0.27 (95% CI 0.09 - 0.85) for
the highest (fourth) quartile. In conclusion, higher
levels of RBC folate are associated with a decreased
risk of CHD in this cohort.
Click to see data from the study here.
Click to see data from the study here.
Sources:
https://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12916-021-01977-8#:~:text=Deficiency%20of%20either%20of%20these,3%2C4%2C5%5D.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3366686/
https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/vitamin-b9-folic-acid#:~:text=B%20complex%20vitamins%2C%20especially%20vitamins,B%20vitamins%20from%20healt
hy%20foods.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6896895/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3366686/
https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/vitamin-b9-folic-acid#:~:text=B%20complex%20vitamins%2C%20especially%20vitamins,B%20vitamins%20from%20healt
hy%20foods.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6896895/