A Correlation Between Nuclear Diameters of Oral Epithelial Squamous Cells and Blood Vitamin B₁₂ Levels of Children with Nutritional Dystrophy

Studies on Nutrition of Children at Hirosaki Area (83 rd Report)

Abstract

It was reported recently that diameters of oral squamous epithelial cells were influenced by deficiency of vitamin B₁₂ or of folic acid. The existence of deficiency in vitamin B₁₂ or/and folio acid was highly probable among the children with nutritional dystrophy in. Hirosaki area. In 36 cases with nutritional dystrophy, the nuclear diameters of squamous epithelial cells were measured microscopically by using mouth washings, and their correlation to blood vitamin B₁₂ levels, estimated nlicrohiologically, was examined. At the same time superposition of folic acid deficiency was checked by testing formiminoglutamic acid in urine.
The correlation coefficients between blood vitamin B₁₂ and the nuclear diameter of squamous epithelial cells were -0.72 in the cases without folio acid deficiency and -0.42 in those with it. Even though these two figures showed a not very significant difference, it may be said that the nuclear diameter of oral epithelial cells from nutritional dystrophy more closely correlated to blood vitamin B₁₂ levels in the cases without folio acid deficiency than in those with it. In other words, folic acid deficiency, as was reported, also gave an influence on the nuclear diameter of epithelial cells, so a superposition of folio acid deficiency lessened the correlation coefficient between blood vitamin B₁₂ levels and the nuclear diameters in our results.