Objective: To describe serum homocysteine distribution and its associated factors in population of urban and rural areas in Beijing.
Methods: The study population was represented by a randomly selected sample with 1 168 subjects, including both males and females aged 35 - 64. The levels of serum homocycteine were compared and the correlation with other risk factors were analyzed statistically.
Results: (1) Geometric mean of serum homocycteine was 15.4 micromol/L in males and 12.2 micromol/L in females (P < 0.001). (2) There was a significant difference in homocysteine levels between urban population and rural population. Men from rural area had 1.5 times higher homocyteine than from urban (18.0 micromol/L vs 12.0 micromol/L, P < 0.001), while the rural women had 1.3 times higher homocysteine level than urban women did. (3) The prevalence rate of hyperhomocysteinemia was 15.3% in population aged 35 - 64 in Beijing area. (4) Gender, residential location (urban or rural), smoking and education had independent effects on level of serum homocysteine by multivariate analysis.
Conclusion: Population in Beijing had higher serum level and prevalence rate of homocysteine than some western countries. Gender, geographic distribution, smoking and education had some influence on homocysteine level.