<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> The aim of this study was to evaluate the vitamin B12 status in a non-vegetarian sample of the adult urban population from Romania. The studied sample included 80 non vegetarian subjects aged between 19 and 74.6 years who did not use vitamin B12 supplements or vitamin B12 fortified food. The serum vitamin B12 assay was performed using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay on a Roche Elecsys 2010 analyzer. Among all subjects, 93.75% (95% CI 86.2-97.3%) had serum vitamin B12 concentrations in the reference range of the employed method (191-663 pg/ml). In these subjects, we found no statistically significant correlations between serum vitamin B12 concentration and age or between serum vitamin B12 concentration and hemoglobin level. The serum vitamin B12 levels did not differ significantly (p>0.05-Student’s t-test) between women and men. Subnormal serum levels of vitamin B12 were observed in 5% (95%CI 1.96-12.16%) of the investigated subjects, associated with irritable bowel syndrome and with long-term therapy with proton pomp inhibitors or birth control pills. In the present study, we have identified a large number of subjects with marginal depletion of vitamin B12 in the population aged below 50 years. These results suggest the need of a screening for vitamin B12 status in people from all age groups, the importance of the identification of responsible causes for the high prevalence of vitamin B12 marginal status, as well as the fact that monitoring the vitamin B12 status is especially important in subjects undergoing long-term treatment with certain drugs</abstract>

The aim of this study was to evaluate the vitamin B12 status in a non-vegetarian sample of the adult urban population from Romania. The studied sample included 80 non vegetarian subjects aged between 19 and 74.6 years who did not use vitamin B12 supplements or vitamin B12 fortified food. The serum vitamin B12 assay was performed using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay on a Roche Elecsys 2010 analyzer. Among all subjects, 93.75% (95% CI 86.2-97.3%) had serum vitamin B12 concentrations in the reference range of the employed method (191-663 pg/ml). In these subjects, we found no statistically significant correlations between serum vitamin B12 concentration and age or between serum vitamin B12 concentration and hemoglobin level. The serum vitamin B12 levels did not differ significantly (p>0.05-Student’s t-test) between women and men. Subnormal serum levels of vitamin B12 were observed in 5% (95%CI 1.96-12.16%) of the investigated subjects, associated with irritable bowel syndrome and with long-term therapy with proton pomp inhibitors or birth control pills. In the present study, we have identified a large number of subjects with marginal depletion of vitamin B12 in the population aged below 50 years. These results suggest the need of a screening for vitamin B12 status in people from all age groups, the importance of the identification of responsible causes for the high prevalence of vitamin B12 marginal status, as well as the fact that monitoring the vitamin B12 status is especially important in subjects undergoing long-term treatment with certain drugs

Screening of the vitamin B12 status in an urban population sample from Romania: a pilot study

Department of Pharmaceutical Biochemistry and Clinical Laboratory, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Iuliu Haţieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Department of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, “Iuliu Haţieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Department of Orthodontics Faculty of Dental Medicine, “Iuliu Haţieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Revista Romana de Medicina de Laborator

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the vitamin B12 status in a non-vegetarian sample of the adult urban population from Romania. The studied sample included...

Screening of the vitamin B12 status in an urban population sample from Romania: a pilot study

Published Online: Jun 21, 2014

Page range: 173 - 179

Received: Jan 27, 2014

Accepted: May 18, 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rrlm-2014-0018

© by Elena C. Crăciun

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.