Anemia - Risk Factors

(Page 4)

Click the icon to see an image of the benefits of vitamin B12.

Causes of Folate Deficiency. The body stores only about 100 times its daily requirements for folate and can exhaust this supply within about 3 months if the diet is deficient in folate.

• Poor diet coupled with alcoholism is the most common cause of folate deficiency. Alcohol abuse not only contributes to malnutrition but also causes chemical changes that can result in lower folate levels.
• Any condition that disturbs the small intestine and impairs its absorption ability can cause a deficiency. Such disorders include inflammatory bowel disease or celiac sprue (a sensitivity reaction to gluten), as well as gastric bypass weight-loss surgery.

Click the icon to see an image of foods that contain gluten.

• Parasitic diseases such as giardiasis
• Short bowel syndrome
• Deficiencies can also arise due to high demand for folic acid caused by conditions such as cancer, pregnancy, severe psoriasis, severe hyperthyroidism, and hemolytic anemia.
• Some drugs, including phenytoin, methotrexate, trimethoprim, and triamterene, may also hinder folate absorption.

Review Date: 01/13/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).