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Folate status as a nutritional indicator among people with substance use disorder; a prospective cohort study in Norway
Poor nutritional status is seen frequently in Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Amongst the essential dietary micronutrients, Vitamin B9 (folate) is especially important for health. In this prospective longitudinal cohort study by Bemanian et al. (2022), the authors evaluated the levels of serum folate amongst a population of SUD patients and explored the causative factors related to SUD on folate levels. 663 participants underwent annual evaluations of their serum micronutrient levels for five years (May 2016 to June 2020), revealing that 48% of participants suffered from low serum folate levels and that 23% were deficient in folate, with around 60% of the participants maintaining an unfavorable level of folate for at least one following assessment. Save for weekly use of cannabis and alcohol, no other substance was found to affect serum folate levels on weekly use. Injectable substances and higher doses of opioid agonist therapy medications (OAT), however, were linked to a reduction in serum folate. The authors conclude that their results highlight the necessity of recognizing and addressing nutritional challenges amongst populations with severe SUD. [NPID: Folate, nutrition, opioid agonist therapy, substance use disorder, vitamin]
Year: 2022
