TY - GEN T1 - Folate status in Germany AU - Mensink, Gert AU - Weißenborn, Anke AU - Richter, Almut AB - Folate is important for cell division and thus for growth and physical development. Serum folate concentrations can be used to assess a population’s folate status. In Germany, the median serum folate level of adults aged 18 to 79 is 7.5 ng/ml (women: 7.9 ng/ml, and men: 7.2 ng/ml). Approximately 86% of the adult population in Germany has adequate folate levels. Higher folate concentrations are observed among older age groups and individuals with a higher socio-economic status. However, the World Health Organization recommends that women of reproductive age should, at the population level, have significantly higher folate levels in order to reduce the risk for neural tube defects. However, the majority of women in this age group do not achieve these concentrations. KW - Germany KW - health survey KW - DEGS 1 KW - nutrition KW - folate KW - 610 Medizin PY - 2016 LA - eng PB - Robert Koch-Institut VL - 1 IS - 2 DO - 10.17886/RKI-GBE-2016-040 ER -