# Examining Epidemiology of Folate Status Attributable to Adolescent Alcohol Use

> **NIH NIH P20** · OSU CENTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES · 2020 · $355,719

## Abstract

Heavy alcohol consumption among adolescents is a fundamental public health threat. There is evidence that
heavy alcohol use and alcoholism impair intestinal absorption of folate (vitamin B9), and promotes renal and
hepatic folate excretion. Therefore, adolescent girls may face additional risks from heavy alcohol consumption.
Inadequate folate status contributes to a host of poor birth outcomes and adverse consequences later in
childhood. The proposed prospective epidemiological study will recruit a stratified quota sample of White,
African American and Latina (N=455) adolescent girls aged 14 - 18 years. Participants will be monitored over
a 4-week period with assessments including weekly collecting of dried blood spot samples (to monitor folate)
and continuous transdermal assessment of blood alcohol level. Collected data will be used to achieve three
primary specific aims: 1) delineate racial and ethnic variation in the frequency and intensity of alcohol
intoxication over time among 14-18 year-old girls, controlling for important familial influences on alcohol use; 2)
describe racial and ethnic variation in folate status over time, controlling for dietary habits and important familial
influences; and 3) delineate variation in folate status by alcohol intoxication, and determine if folate status is
depleted following heavy episodic drinking events. Accomplishing these aim is significant because there are
persistent racial and ethnic disparities in poor birth outcomes among women of color, and the role of earlier
alcohol behavior in these disparities is ambiguous. This project therefore addresses a critical gap in the
literature by expanding knowledge about the potential role heavy alcohol use and subsequent implications for
folate status may play in creating racial and ethnic inequities in poor birth outcomes including birth defects.
The proposed study is innovative in its prospective, community-based design, its focus on adolescent girls, its
objective assessment of alcohol use through continuous transdermal assessment, and its rigorous field
assessments of serum folate through the collection of dried blood spot samples. Accomplishing the goals of
this study will allow for targeted identification of potential causes of several pregnancy-related problems and
birth defects. Such information can be helpful in reducing health disparities related to pregnancy and childbirth.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9924562
- **Project number:** 5P20GM109097-05
- **Recipient organization:** OSU CENTER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Julie May Croff
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $355,719
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → 2022-09-05

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9924562

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9924562, Examining Epidemiology of Folate Status Attributable to Adolescent Alcohol Use (5P20GM109097-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-14 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9924562. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*