{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,1]],"date-time":"2026-09-01T15:20:39Z","timestamp":1788276039135,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":43,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,22]],"date-time":"2022-04-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1650585600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>A growing body of research evidence suggests that elevated homocysteine level (hyperhomocysteinemia) is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. The current study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors for hyperhomocysteinemia among adolescent Afghan refugees aged 10\u201319 years. In total, 206 healthy adolescent boys and girls were randomly recruited from a refugee village in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2020. Socio-demographic data, anthropometric assessment, and blood sample collection were performed following standard methods. Serum homocysteine was assessed using a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay, with hyperhomocysteinemia defined as levels \u2265 15 \u00b5mol\/L. The overall prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia was 25%, with mean homocysteine levels significantly (p = 0.004) higher among boys (14.1 \u00b5mol\/L) than girls (11.8 \u00b5mol\/L). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between hyperhomocysteineimia and serum levels of vitamin B12 (OR 0.29; 95% CI of 0.14 to 0.62; p &lt; 0.01) and folate (OR 0.1; 95% CI of 0.03 to 0.27; p &lt; 0.001). Overall, our study findings indicate high prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia among adolescent Afghan refugees who are potentially at high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases in future. There is a dire need to develop and implement nutritional and public health strategies to control hyperhomocysteinemia, protect against related diseases and complications in future, and ensure healthy lives and well-being among these vulnerable populations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu14091751","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,23]],"date-time":"2022-04-23T21:39:45Z","timestamp":1650749985000},"page":"1751","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Adolescent Afghan Refugees Display a High Prevalence of Hyperhomocysteinemia and Associated Micronutrients Deficiencies Indicating an Enhanced Risk of Cardiovascular Disease in Later Life"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Muhammad Shabir","family":"Khan","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Hayat Abad Phase 5, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anum","family":"Saeedullah","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Kabir Medical College, Gandhara University, Canal Road University Town, Peshawar 25000, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4295-2686","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simon C.","family":"Andrews","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Biological Sciences, Health and Life Sciences Building, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AX, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Khalid","family":"Iqbal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Hayat Abad Phase 5, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Syed Abdul","family":"Qadir","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Hayat Abad Phase 5, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Babar","family":"Shahzad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Hayat Abad Phase 5, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zahoor","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Khyber Medical College, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6565-1777","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad","family":"Shahzad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Khyber Medical University, Hayat Abad Phase 5, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan"},{"name":"School of Biological Sciences, Health and Life Sciences Building, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AX, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,4,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"United Nations High Commissioner for UNHCR\u2014Refugee Statistics (2022, January 12). 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