Question

(4) 3 non-pregnant 33 yr old female subjects have the following identical blood data: (9 pts) 11.8 38 4.00 85 13.1 Additional information RBC Serum folate 凭レ卜 Ki 420 340 380 11-14 7-8 10-12 All 3 are about to start an experimental Folate deficient diet. Given the above information, answer and briefly discuss the following questions: Which participant would you expect to display abnormal RBC indices and/or display clinical Anemia first? (circle one): Provide three reasons about that participant describing why you believe that person will display the clinical symptoms first. Rationale

Answer 1

The participant B will have the clinical anemia before anybody else because:

1. The intrinsic factor that helps in folate absorption have antibodies against it. This will impede the folate absorption from stomach. Folate and folic acid are important in RBC production.

2. The participant B smokes. One of the adverse effects of smoking is anemia.

3. The RBC folate level of B are 340nmol/L which are less than the other two participants. Normal range of RBC folate is 317 to 1422 nmol/L. RBC folate levels indicate the folate status over the lifetime of RBCs. The participant B have RBC folate on lower side which increases her risk for folate deficiency