Signs of folic acid deficiency are often subtle. Diarrhea, loss of appetite, and weight loss can occur. Additional signs are weakness, sore tongue, headaches, heart palpitations, irritability, and behavioral disorders.^[1] Women with folate deficiency who become pregnant are more likely to give birth to low birth weight and premature infants, and infants with neural tube defects. In adults, anemia is a sign of advanced folate deficiency. In infants and children, folate deficiency can slow growth rate. Some of these symptoms can also result from a variety of medical conditions other than folate deficiency. It is important to have a physician evaluate these symptoms so that appropriate medical care can be given. Diarrhea or diarrhoea (see spelling differences) is a condition in which the sufferer has frequent watery, loose bowel movements (from the ancient Greek word διαρροή = leakage; lit. ... A headache (medically known as cephalalgia) is a condition of pain in the head; sometimes neck or upper back pain may also be interpreted as a headache. ... A palpitation is an awareness of the beating of the heart, whether it is too slow, too fast, or at its normal frequency; brought on by overexertion, adrenaline, alcohol, disease or drugs, or as a symptom of panic disorder. ... Premature birth (also known as preterm birth, or premie) is defined medically as childbirth occurring earlier than 37 completed weeks of gestation. ...

A deficiency of folate can occur when your need for folate is increased, when dietary intake of folate is inadequate, and when your body excretes (or loses) more folate than usual. Medications that interfere with your body's ability to use folate may also increase the need for this vitamin. ^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Some situations that increase the need for folate include:

• pregnancy and lactation (breastfeeding)
• alcohol abuse
• malabsorption, including celiac disease
• kidney dialysis
• liver disease
• certain anemias.

Medications can interfere with folate utilization, including: Pregnancy is the carrying of one or more embryos or fetuses by female mammals, including humans, inside their bodies. ... A breastfeeding infant Breastfeeding is the process of a woman feeding an infant or young child with milk from her breasts, usually directly from the nipples. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Malabsorption is the state of impaired absorption of nutrients in the small intestine. ... This article is about clinical dialysis; for the laboratory technique, see Dialysis (biochemistry) In medicine, dialysis is a method for removing waste such as urea from the blood when the kidneys are incapable of this, i. ... The liver is the largest internal organ of the human body. ... This article discusses the medical condition. ...

• anticonvulsant medications (such as phenytoin, and primidone)
• metformin (sometimes prescribed to control blood sugar in type 2 diabetes)
• sulfasalazine (used to control inflammation associated with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis)
• triamterene (a diuretic)
• methotrexate.

The anticonvulsants, sometimes also called antiepileptics, belong to a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in prevention of the occurrence of epileptic seizures. ... Phenytoin sodium (marketed as Dilantin® in the USA and as Epanutin® in the UK, by Parke-Davis, now part of Pfizer) is a commonly used antiepileptic. ... Primidone, is an anticonvulsant of the pyrimidinedione class whose active metabolites, phenobarbital (minor) and phenylethylmalonamide (PEMA) (major), are also anticonvulsants. ... Metformin (Glucophage®, Fortamet®, Riomet®) is an anti-diabetic drug from the biguanide class (its other members are the withdrawn agents phenformin and buformin). ... Glucose (Glc), a monosaccharide (or simple sugar), is one of the most important carbohydrates. ... See diabetes mellitus for further general information on diabetes. ... Sulfasalazine is a sulfa drug, a derivative of Mesalazine (5-aminosalicylic acid abbreviated as 5-ASA), used primarily as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease as well as for rheumatoid arthritis. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Triamterene is a potassium-sparing diuretic used in combination with thiazide diuretics for the treatment of hypertension. ... A diuretic is any drug that elevates the rate of bodily urine excretion. ... Methotrexate (rINN) (IPA: ), abbreviated MTX and formerly known as amethopterin, is an antimetabolite drug used in treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. ...

Footnotes

1. ^ Haslam N and Probert CS. (1998). "An audit of the investigation and treatment of folic acid deficiency". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 91 (2): 72-3. PMID 9602741.
2. ^ Oakley GP Jr, Adams MJ, Dickinson CM (1996). "More folic acid for everyone, now". Journal of Nutrition 126 (3): 751S-755S. PMID 8598560.
3. ^ McNulty H (1995). "Folate requirements for health in different population groups". British Journal of Biomedical Science 52 (2): 110-9. PMID 8520248.
4. ^ Stolzenberg R (1994). "Possible folate deficiency with postsurgical infection". Nutrition in Clinical Practice 9 (6): 247-50. PMID 7476802.
5. ^ Pietrzik KF and Thorand B (1997). "Folate economy in pregnancy". Nutrition 13 (11-12): 975-7. PMID 9433714.
6. ^ Kelly GS (1998). "Folates: Supplemental forms and therapeutic applications". Altern Med Rev 3 (3): 208-20. PMID 9630738.
7. ^ Cravo ML, Gloria LM, Selhub J, Nadeau MR, Camilo ME, Resende MP, Cardoso JN, Leitao CN, Mira FC (1996). "Hyperhomocysteinemia in chronic alcoholism: correlation with folate, vitamin B-12, and vitamin B-6 status". The American journal of clinical nutrition 63 (2): 220-4. PMID 8561063.

External links

• MedlinePlus Encylopedia 000354