Vitamin B12 deficiency in the elderly: is it worth screening?

Hong Kong Medical Journal = Xianggang Yi Xue Za Zhi
C W Wong

Abstract

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common among the elderly. Elderly people are particularly at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency because of the high prevalence of atrophic gastritis-associated food-cobalamin (vitamin B12) malabsorption, and the increasing prevalence of pernicious anaemia with advancing age. The deficiency most often goes unrecognised because the clinical manifestations are highly variable, often subtle and non-specific, but if left undiagnosed the consequences can be serious. Diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency, however, is not straightforward as laboratory tests have certain limitations. Setting a cut-off level to define serum vitamin B12 deficiency is difficult; though homocysteine and methylmalonic acid are more sensitive for vitamin B12 deficiency, it may give false result in some conditions and the reference intervals are not standardised. At present, there is no consensus or guideline for diagnosis of this deficiency. It is most often based on the clinical symptoms together with laboratory assessment (low serum vitamin B12 level and elevated serum homocysteine or methylmalonic acid level) and the response to treatment to make definitive diagnosis. Treatment and replacement with oral vitamin B12 can be as effective a...Continue Reading

Citations

Feb 26, 2016·Aging Clinical and Experimental Research·Yacov FogelmanEli Carmeli
Aug 18, 2016·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Esther Setién-SueroRosa Ayesa-Arriola
Apr 10, 2018·Geriatrics & Gerontology International·Pinar Soysal, Ahmet Turan Isik
May 10, 2018·International Journal of Laboratory Hematology·M SalinasC Leiva-Salinas
May 31, 2019·Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders Drug Targets·Ibrahim Elmadfa, Alexa L Meyer
Jul 30, 2020·Nursing Older People·Neal Scott Aplin
Aug 23, 2020·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Maryam GulAmmar Chaudhry
Jan 10, 2019·Nutrients·Maaike J BruinsManfred Eggersdorfer
Apr 15, 2020·Molecules : a Journal of Synthetic Chemistry and Natural Product Chemistry·Ovidiu MituIrina Iuliana Costache
Jan 5, 2021·Frontiers in Nutrition·Silvia FostinelliStefano F Cappa
Dec 31, 2020·International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health·Sara Al-MusharafNasser Al-Daghri

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Atrophic Gastritis

Atrophic Gastritis is a process where gastric glandular cells are lost and replaced with firbous tissues, as a result of chronic inflammation. Learn more about Atrophic Gastritis here.