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Vitamin B-6 Status during Childhood: Tracking from 2 Months to 11 Years of Age^1,2,

Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki, FIN-00290 Helsinki, Finland ^* Mila Ltd., Sirrikuja 4B. FIN-00940, Helsinki, Finland

To examine the development and tracking of long-term vitamin B-6 status from infancy to early adolescence, measurements of erythrocyte pyridoxal 5'-phosphate concentration (EPLP), the erythrocyte aspartate transaminase (EAST) stimulation test including measurements of basal activity (EAST_o) and activation coefficient (EAST), were made in a follow-up study of healthy children aged 2 (n = 139), 4 (n = 147), 6 (n = 157), 9 (n = 159) and 12 mo (n = 188) and 5 y (n = 148). The EAST stimulation test was repeated at 11 y (n = 153). Vitamin B-6 status, high during infancy, reached the adult level by 5 y of age. The 10th to 90th percentile ranges for EPLP values were 61–201 nmol/L at 4 mo, 49–101 nmol/L at 12 mo and 27–59 nmol/L at 5 y. The respective ranges for EAST_o were 16–24 µkat/L at 4 mo, 13–19 µkat/L at 12 mo, 9–14 µkat/L at 5 y and 25–39 µkat/L at 11 y of age. For EAST values were 1.29–1.54 at 4 mo, 1.48–1.77 at 12 mo, 1.70–2.07 at 5 y and 2.00–2.57 at 11 y. Values for EPLP and the EAST stimulation test in the first year of life correlated with the values at 5 and 11 y. The individuals with values at the extreme ends of the distributions remained there from infancy to childhood up to 3.3 times more often than expected from random variation. Vitamin B-6 status, high in infancy, fell with age, and tracking of EPLP and EAST stimulation test values developed during the first year of life. The levels of these indices are affected by vitamin B-6 intake and age, but they may also be genetically influenced. Thus, the values for vitamin B-6 indices in infancy are predictive of the subsequent levels later in childhood.

KEY WORDS: • tracking • reference range • humans • pyridoxine • erythrocytes • vitamin B-6

¹ Supported by the Foundation for Pediatric Research, Helsinki.

² The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 USC section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.

³ To whom correspondence should be addressed.

Manuscript received 4 April 1995. Revision accepted 7 July 1995.