Folate deficiency

Folate deficiency: Introduction

Inadequate consumption of folic acid to meet the body's needs. Folic acid is a naturally occurring vitamin found in green leafy vegetables, liver, yeast and mushrooms. Alcohol and excessive cooking can affect folic acid absorption. Some medications may also cause folic acid deficiency. Folate deficiency during pregnancy can result in neural tube defects in the infant.

Symptoms of Folate deficiency

• Anemia - see also symptoms of anemia
• Bleeding symptoms
• Bleeding easily
• Intestinal symptoms
• Malabsorption
• more symptoms...»

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Folate deficiency:

• Pregnancy -- Related Home Testing:
  • Home Pregnancy Tests
  • Home Early Pregnancy Tests
  • Home Ovulation Tests
  • Home Fertility Tests
  • Home Rhesus/RH Blood Type Tests
  • Home Fetal Tests
• Fertility-related Home Testing:
  • Home Ovulation Tests
  • Home Fertility Tests
• Male Fertility Tests
  • Home Sperm Tests
  • Sperm Count Tests
  • Sperm Motility Tests
• Cold & Flu: Home Testing:
  • Home Fever Tests
  • Home Ear Infection Test Kits
  • Home Flu Tests
  • Home Strep A Tests
• Menopause: Related Home Testing:
  • Home Menopause Tests
  • Home FSH Hormone Tests
  • Home Osteoporosis Testing
• Vaginal Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Vaginal Infection Tests
  • Home Vaginal PH Tests
  • Home Yeast Infection Tests
  • Home Candida Kits
  • Home Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) Test Kits
  • Home Bladder Test Kits
• Breast Cancer: Related Home Tests:
  • Home Breast Cancer Test Kits
  • Home Breast Lump Detection
• more tests...»

Folate deficiency: Complications

Review possible medical complications related to Folate deficiency:

• Anemia
• Placenta separation (see Placenta symptoms) - increased risk for pregnant women.
• Newborn conditions of increased risk in babies born to a woman with folate deficiency:
  • Low birth weight
  • Birth defects
  • Spina bifida
  • Cleft lip
• more complications...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Folate deficiency

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Folate deficiency?

• Misdiagnosis of Folate deficiency
• Failure to diagnose Folate deficiency
• Hidden causes of Folate deficiency (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Undiagnosed: Folate deficiency

Folate deficiency: Self Assessment Tools

• Fertility -- Self Assessment Tools
• more tools...»

Folate deficiency: Medical Mistakes

• Women's Health Mistakes:
  • Womens Health -- Health Mistakes
  • Contraception -- Health Mistakes
  • Fertility -- Health Mistakes
• more mistakes...»

Folate deficiency: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Folate deficiency:

• Mom & Baby
• Pregnancy
• Womens Health
• more product offers...»

Folate deficiency: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Women's Reproductive Health: diseases that are commonly undiagnosed:
  • Overactive Bladder Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • PCOS -- Undiagnosed
  • Chlamydia -- Undiagnosed
  • Pelvic Inflammatory Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Cervical Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Breast Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Ovarian Cancer -- Undiagnosed
  • Von Willebrand Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • more ...»
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Folate deficiency

Rare type of breast cancer without a lump: There is a less common form of breast cancer called inflammatory breast cancer. Its symptoms can be an inflammation of the breast tissue,...read more »

Undiagnosed celiac disease in pregnancy harms fetus: The failure to diagnose the common but less known digestive disease celiac disease (see symptoms of celiac disease...read more »

Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see ...read more »

Misdiagnosed weight-related causes of infertility: A woman's weight status can affect her level of fertility. Although obesity or overweight can in themselves reduce fertility, there are...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Folate deficiency

Folate deficiency: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Infertility Specialists:
  • Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility
• Pregnancy & Fertility Health Specialists:
  • Maternal & Fetal Medicine
  • Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
• Baby & Newborn Health Specialists:
• Womens Health Specialists:
  • Gynecological Oncology
• Child Health Specialists (Pediatrics):
  • Pediatrics (Child Health Specialist)
  • Adolescent Medicine (Teen Health)
  • Pediatric / Adolescent Psychiatry (Child/Teen Mental Health)
  • Pediatric Allergy and Immunology (Child Allergies / Immune Diseases)
  • Pediatric Cardiology (Child Heart Specialists)
  • Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
  • Pediatric Dentistry (Child Dental Health)
  • Pediatric Dermatology (Child Skin Health)
  • Pediatric Developmental Behavioral Health (Child Behavior)
  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Folate deficiency

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Folate deficiency:

• Womens Health -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• Child Health (Pediatrics) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Folate deficiency, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Folate deficiency: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Women's Reproductive Health -- rare types of diseases:
  • Overactive Bladder Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • PCOS -- Rare Types
  • Chlamydia -- Rare Types
  • Pelvic Inflammatory Disease -- Rare Types
  • Cervical Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Breast Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Ovarian Cancer -- Rare Types
  • Von Willebrand Disease -- Rare Types
  • more ...»
• more rare diseases...»

Causes of Folate deficiency

• Phenytoin
• Malabsorption syndrome
• Bacterial overgrowth of small intestine
• Sulphasalazine
• Paraneoplastic syndrome
• more causes...»

See full list of 10 causes of Folate deficiency

Read more about causes of Folate deficiency.

More information about causes of Folate deficiency:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Folate deficiency (4 listings)
• Drug interactions causing Folate deficiency (3 listings)
• Folate deficiency as a symptom
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Folate deficiency

Treatments for Folate deficiency

• Adequate diet - dietary sources of folate include yeast, wheat germ, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, liver.
• Folate-enriched breakfast cereals
• Folate supplements
• Folate
• more treatments...»

Read more about treatments for Folate deficiency

News Archives for Folate deficiency

Medical news articles related to Folate deficiency include:

• Women Who Run May Benefit From Extra Folic Acid
• Folic Acid Reduces Infant Heart Defects
• Before Conceiving, Take Folic Acid for One Full Year
• Folic Acid Might Offer Allergy Relief
• Acid Reducers May Not Help All With Asthma
• Folic Acid Supplements Raise Prostate Cancer Risk
• Folic Acid and Other B Vitamins Won't Help Prevent Cancer
• more health news...»

Source: HealthDay News

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Folate deficiency

Medical research articles related to Folate deficiency include:

• If there are no clinical symptoms does a patient with serum B12 deficiency need to be treated (no other deficiency like iron).
• Anaemia - B12 and folate deficiency
• Dementia ? Diagnostic and Therapeutic Interventions (vol 2)
• Is intrinsic factor antibodies and antiparietal cells antibodies testing necessary to diagnose pernicious anaemia?
• If there are no clinical symptoms does a patient with serum B12 deficiency need to be treated (no other deficiency like iron).
• Is intrinsic factor antibodies and antiparietal cells antibodies testing necessary to diagnose pernicious anaemia?
• Vitamin B12 and folate and the risk of anemia in old age: the Leiden 85-Plus Study
• HIV for non-HIV specialists - diagnosing the undiagnosed
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Videos for Folate deficiency

Patient Surveys for Folate deficiency

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Folate deficiency
  Take Survey  View Results

Reseach about Folate deficiency

Visit our research pages for current research about Folate deficiency treatments.

Clinical Trials for Folate deficiency

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Folate deficiency include:

• Relationship Between Folic Acid and Warfarin Metabolism and Effect - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Folic acid
• more trials...»

Read more about Clinical Trials for Folate deficiency

Prevention of Folate deficiency

Prevention information for Folate deficiency has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Folate deficiency.

• Folate
• more preventions...»

Read more about prevention of Folate deficiency

Stories from Users Related to Folate deficiency

• folic acid and diarrhea
• Update: B12 & Folate Tests In......

Related forums and medical stories:

• Blood Conditions (129)
  • Anemia - ice chewing
  • small red spots on arms legs back chest
  • Low Platelets, Low white blood count
  • tingly, heavy arms
  • Magnesium Deficiency
  • More user stories

User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Folate deficiency, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Definitions of Folate deficiency:

A nutritional condition produced by a deficiency of FOLIC ACID in the diet. Many plant and animal tissues contain folic acid, abundant in green leafy vegetables, yeast, liver, and mushrooms but destroyed by long-term cooking. Alcohol interferes with its intermediate metabolism and absorption. Folic acid deficiency may develop in long-term anticonvulsant therapy or with use of oral contraceptives. This deficiency causes anemia, macrocytic anemia, and megaloblastic anemia. It is indistinguishable from vitamin B 12 deficiency in peripheral blood and bone marrow findings, but the neurologic lesions seen in B 12 deficiency do not occur. (Merck Manual, 16th ed) - (Source - Diseases Database)