A comparative study was done to determine the profile of vitamin B12 and folate status in Malaysians during two different periods. For the period of 1987/88, we analysed a total of 9,162 cases (inpatients) referred for vitamin B12 estimation and 10,290 cases for folate estimation. We found that 2.6% were vitamin B12 deficient and 31.2% were folate deficient. For the period of 1992/93, of the 9,962 cases assayed, 8.2% were found to be vitamin B12 deficient whereas 7.6% of the 10,355 cases referred were folate deficient. Vitamin B12 and folate were assayed either using microbiological or radioassays. These findings indicate that there appears to be a change in the status of both vitamin B12 and folate over the five year interval.
Matched MeSH terms: Vitamin B 12 Deficiency/complications
Vitamin B12 deficiency in vegans is a known cause of megaloblastic anaemia. We report an adolescent girl who presented with jaundice and weight loss for 6 months secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency, leading to megaloblastic anaemia. Replacement with vitamin B12 reversed her symptoms, resulting in weight gain, and normalised her haemoglobin, red blood cell morphology, bilirubin levels and serum vitamin B12 levels.
Matched MeSH terms: Vitamin B 12 Deficiency/complications
Background: Poor vitamin B-12 (cobalamin) status is widespread in South Asia. Insufficient vitamin B-12 status has been linked to poor neurodevelopment in young children.Objective: We measured the associations between vitamin B-12 status in infancy (2-12 mo) and the development and cognitive functioning in Nepalese children 5 y later.Design: Vitamin B-12 status was assessed in infancy with the use of plasma cobalamin, total homocysteine (tHcy), and methylmalonic acid (MMA). At 5 y of age, we measured development with the use of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd edition (ASQ-3), and cognitive functioning by using the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment, 2nd edition (NEPSY II), in 320 children. In regression models, we estimated the associations between vitamin B-12 status, including a combined indicator of vitamin B-12 status (3cB12) and scores on the ASQ-3 and NEPSY II subtests.Results: All markers of vitamin B-12 status with the exception of plasma cobalamin were significantly associated with the total ASQ-3 scores in the multiple regression models. A 1-unit increase in the 3cB12 score was associated with an increase in the total ASQ-3 score of 4.88 (95% CI: 2.09, 7.68; P = 0.001). Increases in both plasma tHcy and MMA (indicating poorer status) were associated with a decrease in scores on the NEPSY II affect recognition and geometric puzzle subtests. Each unit increment in 3cB12 scores was associated with increases of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.49, 1.14; P < 0.0005), 0.59 (95% CI: 0.10, 1.09; P = 0.020), and 0.24 (95% CI: 0.02, 0.47; P = 0.035) in the affect recognition, geometric puzzle, and block construction scores, respectively.Conclusions: Vitamin B-12 status in infancy is associated with development and performance on social perception tasks and visuospatial abilities at 5 y of age. The long-term effects of poor vitamin B-12 status in infancy need further investigation in randomized controlled trials.
Matched MeSH terms: Vitamin B 12 Deficiency/complications*