Prevalence of folate and vitamin B12 deficiency in Mexican children aged 1 to 6 years in a population-based survey

objective: to describe the magnitude and distribution of folate and vitamin b12 deficiency in mexican children. materials and methods: folate and vitamin b12 serum concentrations were measured in a probabilistic sample of 2 099 children. adjusted prevalence, mean concentrations and relevant associations were calculated based on series of logistic and linear regression models. results: the overall prevalence of folate and vitamin b12 deficiency were 3.2% and 7.7%, respectively. the highest prevalence of folate was found in the 2-year-old (7.9%), and of vitamin b12 in the 1 year-old (9.1%) groups. being a beneficiary of the fortified milk program liconsa was protectively associated with serum folate (p=0.001) and daily intake of milk with vitamin b12 (p=0.002) concentrations. conclusions: we describe the magnitude of folate and vitamin b12 deficiencies in mexican children. the deficiency of both vitamins in children under 2 years old is a moderate public health problem in mexico.