Iron, Folate and Vitamin B12 Status of Children and Adolescents: Single Center Study in the Aegean Region

Abstract

Objective: Although anemia is frequently seen in children, there isn't adequate number of study related with this issue. In this study, we aimed to investigate iron, folate and vitamin B12 status in children and adolescents in a single center in the Aegean region of our country. Method: We retrospectively evaluated the children without chronic disease who were admitted to our hospital between 2008-2016 (n=7310). Ferritin, iron and iron binding capacity were measured by Olympus 2700 analyzer. Folate and vitamin B12 were measured using Immulite 2000 and Cobas E411 analyzer, respectively. MCV and hemoglobin were measured with Beckman Coulter LH750. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for comparison between groups. Results: Children (2743 boys, and 4567 girls) aged between 1-18 years old were screened. The percentage of iron, folate, vitamin B12 and combined iron and vitamin B12 deficiencies were found to be 21.7%, 8%, 16.9%, and 4.7% respectively, while 18.8% of all children were in the anemic group. The incidence of combined iron and vitamin B12 in anemic group was found to be high (10.2%), although anemic and nonanemic groups were similar with respect to vitamin B12 and folate deficiencies. Conclusion: Iron deficiency may mask the megaloblastic anemia caused by vitamin B12 and folate deficiency. Effective preventive social nutrition programs may be useful in preventing anemia.

Is There An Association Between Vitamin B12 Level and Vitamin D Status in Children?

“…24,28,29 In a study conducted in Turkey, no significant difference was found between sex. 25 In our study, no significant difference was found between sex and vit B12 levels.…”

“…Considering the relationship between hematological parameters and vit B12 level, in the study conducted by Çolak et al, 25 no relationship was found between Hb, leukocyte count, platelet count and vit B12 levels. In our study, unlike the other study, a significant relationship was found between leukocyte and platelet counts and vit B12 level.…”

“…In another study conducted in Turkey, the average B12 level of 889 children between the ages of 12 and 18 years living in Diyarbakır was found to be 331.51 ± 144.05 (107.9 to 1070) pg/mL, while 2.2% of the children were reported to be deficient in vit B12. [24][25][26] In the study conducted by Wright et al, 27 the mean vit B12 level between the ages of 4 and 19 was 518 pg/mL, while it was found to be 185 pg/mL in the study by Allen et al 18 The relationship between sex and vit B12 level is controversial. There are different results in studies on adults.…”

Evaluation of Clinical and Laboratory Findings and Diagnostic Difficulties in Children with Vitamin B12 Deficiency

“…Çolak et al found the frequency of deficiency to be 16.9% in their study with 7310 children in Izmir. In this study, the lower limit of vitamin B12 was taken as 200 pg/ml (7). In another study conducted with a total of 889 participants aged 12-22 years in Diyarbakır, Turkey, the deficiency was found in 14.4% of the participants when the vitamin B12 cut-off level was taken to be 240 pg/ml (8).…”

Transient loss of consciousness in children: Syncope or epileptic seizure?

“…19 In a study conducted in Turkey involving children aged 1-18 years, anemia was found at a rate of 18.8% and vitamin B12 deficiency at a rate of 16.9%. 20 As a result, it is not possible to link TLOC with anemia and vitamin B12 insufficiency.…”