Higher vitamin B12 levels were associated with greater mortality, but it is unclear whether vitamin B12 is a marker or a surrogate marker or even a substance that directly causes death. Further investigation is needed to clarify.

In view of the fact that vitamin B12 levels have been found to predict mortality, they should be measured in geriatric practice, in addition to albumin levels, as a practical and reliable tool for identifying high risk elderly hospitalized patients. Probably, a combination of two or more available and inexpensive routinely taken tests can give a better estimation of mortality than some complicated tools, like Charlson co-morbidity index.

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