Vitamin B12 deficiency leads to serious health problems, whilst sub-optimal status is associated with raised biochemical markers of disease risk. Identifying at-risk groups could benefit both individuals and public health. Dietary data were sourced from the New Zealand Adult Nutrition Survey 2008/2009, involving a nationally representative sample of 4721 participants. Ethnic groupings were by r...

Accumulation of methylmalonic acid may provide an early clue to deficiency of cobalamin (vitamin B12) in tissue. Metabolic abnormalities involving precursors of methylmalonic acid are frequently observed in patients with hepatic diseases. To establish whether methylmalonic acid accumulates and thereby gives false-positive test results for cobalamin deficiency, we measured the concentration of m...

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We report on the use of recombinant human intrinsic factor (rhIF) in a new vitamin B12 absorption test. Holotranscobalamin (holoTC) was measured before and 24 hours after intake of three 9-mg doses of vitamin B12 (B12) and again 24 hours after intake of the same dose of B12 together with rhIF (rhIF-B12). Nine patients with evident vitamin B12 deficiency had a significantly higher increase in ho...

In 2008, clinicians performing routine medical examinations in the United States reported high rates of hematologic and neurologic disorders caused by vitamin B12 deficiency in resettled Bhutanese refugees. To confirm this finding, CDC screened Bhutanese refugees' serum samples for vitamin B12 levels and found vitamin B12 deficiency in 64% (n = 99) of samples obtained before departure and 27% (...

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a major public health problem: however, there is no consensus on how to diagnose this deficiency. In the present review we attempt to give a balanced update. We include only issues related to diagnosing and treating vitamin B12 deficiency in the adult population and do not cover inherited diseases of vitamin B12 deficiency except for those related to classical pernicio...

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