In this paper we cleared two particular vitamines from the B vitamine group, folic acid (vitamine B9) and vitamine B12. For its strong metabolic connection we also included homocysteine as part of this paper. B vitamines are found in several different sorts of food, such as vegetables, nuts, beens and fish. They have an important role to maintain a strong immune system, additionally each individual vitamine has got another role of their own. Their sollubillity in water makes the high vitamine concentrations unproblematic as the excess is easily excreted with urine. On the other side vitamine defficiency can lead to complications. Vitamine B12 defficiency can lead to megaloblastic anemia, neutropenia or trombocytopenia. It could also lead to major complications such as heart failure, neurological problems, intestine cancer, diabetes type I and autoimmune diseases. Folic acid defficiency is best known for its connection to defects in fetusesand later newborns. In more detail it is connected to higher incidence of congenital heart failure, oral deformation and neurological damage in newborns. Therefore it is recommended for pregnant women and women planning to conceve to take folic acid supplements at least 3 months before conception and throughout the entire time of pregnancy. The production of homocysteine in the organismis derived from methionine, which we consume with food, and its metabolism isconnected with vitamine B12. Homocysteine can present problems in higher concentrations, in most cases cardiovascular diseases. In this paper we statistically analyzed the results of the analytes and compared them with those of the survey that the subjects completed. The analytes were then compared concerning gender, age, incidence of the associated disorders and residence region. The results showed the connection of higher homocysteine levels in men and seniors. We concluded with a statement, that the defficiency of folic acid and vitamine B12 in Slovenian population does not present a high risk, also their connection to the diseases we analyzed is very low in Slovenia. There is not enough information from this paper alone to set up new state measures regarding fortification of folic acid supplementation for women of childbearing potential. For this purpose a more extensive research requiering measure of folic acid levels in women of childbearing potential and pregnant women would be needed.
|