Total homocysteine levels in healthy children from the Monterrey metropolitan area, Mexico.

Currently, there are indications for determining hyperhomocysteinemia in adulthood as risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, psychiatric disorders, pregnancy complications, birth defects, cognitive impairment in the elderly, in addition to cancer. If hyperhomocysteinemia is determined from childhood, it may be modulated with the provision of an opportunity for public health intervention. The objective of this descriptive study was to determine total homocysteine (tHcy) levels in healthy children from the Monterrey metropolitan area in Mexico. In a peripheral-blood sample collected from 56 healthy children aged 2-10 years, we determined tHcy concentration by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. The geometric mean +/- SD was 9.78 +/- 1.73 micromol/l. tHcys of the children studied were homogeneous by age cohort and gender. Nutritional state was classified by body mass index (BMI). Sixty five percent of children who participated in the study had normal BMI, and 96% of the children belong to the low socioeconomic status. In conclusion, to our knowledge this is the first-ever information on homocysteine (Hcy) prevalence in a population of healthy Mexican children. tHcy concentration was higher than that reported in other populations studies. This preliminary study could constitute the baseline for future public health studies.