Serum homocysteine concentration of US adults associated with fortified cereal consumption

Background: Elevated serum total homocysteine (tHcy) concentration is implicated in the etiology of cardiovascular disease (CVD). A significant food source of B-vitamins involved in homocysteine metabolism is ready-to-cat cereal (RTEC) in the U.S. Objective: To test the hypothesis that tHcy concentration is inversely associated with RTEC intake and blood B-vitamin levels in the U.S. general population. Design: A cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 1999-2000). Data were stratified according to age and gender. Men and women >= 19 y (n=4,218) were classified as RTEC consumers (RTEC-C; n=824) and RTEC non-consumers (RTEC-NC; n=3,394) based on 24-hr dietary recall. Results: Forty nine percent of participants showed folate intake with below the estimated average requirements (EARS). Serum folate and red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations were increased with age in both genders, and significantly higher among RTEC-C than RTEC-NC (p<0.05). Mean tHcy concentration increased with age, and was significantly lower among both men and women RTEC-C than among RTEC-NC. In multivariate linear regression analyses, RTEC consumption strongly predicted serum folate and tHcy concentrations. Conclusion: tHcy concentrations were significantly lower in RTEC-C among the majority of age/gender groups than in RTEC-NC. RTEC consumption may potentially reduce the risk for CVD, mediated through tHcy.