Objectives: To assess the folate and vitamin B12 status of a group of Vietnamese women of reproductive age and to estimate the rate of neural tube defects (NTD) based on red blood cell (RBC) folate concentrations.
Design and subjects: A representative sample of non-pregnant women (15-49 years) living in Hanoi City (n 244) and Hai Duong Province (n 245).
Measures: RBC folate, plasma vitamin B12 and plasma holo-transcobalamin (holoTC), a sensitive indicator of vitamin B12 status.
Results: Mean (95% CI) concentrations of RBC folate, plasma B12 and plasma holoTC were 856 (837, 876) nmol/l, 494 (475, 513) pmol/l and 78 (74, 82) pmol/l, respectively. Only 3% and 4% of women had plasma B12 and holoTC concentrations indicative of deficiency. No woman had an RBC folate concentration indicative of deficiency (<317 nmol/l). Only 47% of women had an RBC folate concentration > or = 905 nmol/l. Accordingly, we predict the NTD rate in these regions of Vietnam to be 14.7 (14.2, 15.1) per 10,000 pregnancies.
Conclusion: There was no evidence of folate and vitamin B12 deficiency among this population of Vietnamese women. However, suboptimal folate status may be placing three out of five women at increased risk of NTD. Reductions in NTD rates are still possible and women would benefit from additional folic acid during the periconceptional period from either supplements or fortified foods.