American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 17, 96-102, Copyright © 1965 by The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc.

Macrocytosis and Diet

A Possible Relationship to Poultry Consumption

¹ From the Department of Social Medicine and the Laboratory of Nutrition, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and Hadassah University Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

A study of the relationship of macrocytosis (mean corpuscular volume values of 96 cu. µ or more) to the calculated intake of nutrients was carried out among four groups of women (largely nonanemic) residing in Jerusalem.

The prevalence of macrocytosis was 31 per cent among pregnant women, 35 per cent among postnatal women, and 26 and 62 per cent in two groups of nonpregnant women.

Macrocytosis was related to a low intake of vitamin B₁₂ and animal protein (other than that derived from poultry). These relationships appeared to be expressions of a single association with diet, or of related dietary associations. They appeared to be independent of age, parity and a number of other variables, but not of social class.

Macrocytosis was also found to be related to a high intake of poultry protein, this association being independent of those with vitamin B₁₂ and other animal protein. This relationship appeared to be independent of social class, age, parity and other variables.

The possibility that poultry consumption may, by an unexplained mechanism, contribute to the development of macrocytosis requires further investigation.