Sacral spina bifida occulta rare occurrence in Byzantine Belentepe population in Mugla, Turkey: A possible case for adequate folic acid intake

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Mutlu H., Kizgut B., Sönmez Sözer Ç., Urker K., Acar O., Sevim Erol A.

HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY, cilt.71, sa.3, ss.175-188, 2020 (SSCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 71 Sayı: 3
  • Basım Tarihi: 2020
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1127/homo/2020/1233
  • Dergi Adı: HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, L'Année philologique, Anthropological Literature, BIOSIS, EMBASE, MEDLINE
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.175-188
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: spina bifida occulta, folic acid, nutrition state, Byzantine population, Anatolia, NEURAL-TUBE DEFECTS, AGE-CHANGES, RISK, PREVALENCE, FOLATE, PREVENTION, METABOLISM
  • Ankara Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Spina bifida may occur during the first weeks after conception; folic acid deficiency is strongly related to this anomaly. We argue that the low prevalence rate of spina bifida may indicate a relatively good nutrition state of a population, given that folic acid is found in many food products commonly eaten. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between folic acid intake and spina bifida occulta prevalence in the Belentepe Byzantine population in Anatolian peninsula, and to compare the prevalence rates with various other ancient Anatolian populations by focusing on sacral spina bifida occulta in the Byzantine population. A total of 62 available human sacra were included in the study and compared with other sacra from relevant research using chi-squared test. Four male individuals had sacral spina bifida occulta with a prevalence rate of 6.45%, which is found to be lower in comparison to other ancient populations from western to eastern Anatolia. The present-day ecology of Belentepe indicates that foods rich with folic acid are common in and around the region. While some studies indicate the contrary, a comparison regarding the sacral spina bifida occulta prevalence with other populations in Anatolia shows a correlation between folic acid intake and proximity to a Mediterranean climate.