SummaryIn recent years the occurrence of thiamin deficiency diseases has increased particularly among elderly people and there has been some speculation about whether or not any particular factors exist. In this study, we focused on elderly people requiring constant care in nursing homes and we conducted an accurate condition survey of total thiamin concentration in whole blood as a means of nutritional assessment. The total number of participants was 14 males and 60 females who were residing in a nursing home; they were aged between 65 and 105 y old. All of the subjects agreed to take part in our research. We conducted the following tests: anthropometric measurements, blood examination including total thiamin levels, and also physical functions such as in the level of nursing care required and tests of other physical conditions. The average Ϯ standard deviation of thiamin concentration was 22.4 Ϯ 8.9 ng/mL and the number of people with a deficient condition (less than 20 ng/mL) was 42, which was 56.8% of the total. From these results, the existence of thiamin deficiency is validated in more than half of the elderly people who require nursing care. On the other hand, the method of meal intake for all participants who have a thiamin deficiency was oral intake and for those who were non-deficient in thiamin, the percentage of tube feeding or nutritional supplementation intravenously was 37.5%, which was a significantly high value.

b o n si nt h eOr g a n i s msI n h a b i t e di nL a k eS u wa Y o s h i n o r iI KE NA K A １) ,Y u u k iI T O １) ,He e s o oE UN ２) , E i k iWA T A NA B E ３) a n dY u i c h iMI Y A B A R A １)

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Objective: We studied effects of fermented milk fortified with 200 µg of folic acid (FF milk) on serum folate levels in Japanese female university students.Methods: Adopting FF milk as an intervention factor, a randomized controlled trial stratified by the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T genetic polymorphism was conducted in 143 university female students. Experimental group subjects were requested to consume FF milk for 4 weeks; control group subjects to consume usual meals. Dietary surveys were conducted using a food frequency questionnaire, and serum folate concentrations were analyzed adopting a chemiluminescence immunoassay. Utilizing oral mucous membrane swabs, MTHFR genotypes were determined with polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism. Paired t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient, chi-square test, or Fisher's exact probability test was applied as appropriate.