The worldwide prevalence of B12 deficiency is estimated to be around 6%. However, the prevalence is higher in adults over 60 years of age.<\/p>\n
The most common clinical symptom of vitamin B12 and folate deficiency is megaloblastic anemia. Previous studies have found that low vitamin B12 levels are associated with poor memory in men.<\/p>\n
Vitamin B12 deficiency <\/b>can accelerate cognitive decline and become an irreversible cause of dementia if left untreated for a long time.<\/b> Therefore, if older adults with B12 deficiency <\/b>are identified and treated in a timely manner, cognitive impairment <\/b>becomes reversible or preventable.<\/p>\n
In a study conducted in Ireland, the effect of folate and B12 levels on depressive symptoms <\/b>was examined. The elderly population observed for 4 years was included in the study.<\/p>\n
This study looked at the relationship between participants’ baseline folate and B12 levels and their depressive symptoms at 2 and 4 years. B12 and folate levels were determined by microbiological analysis and depression scales were applied.<\/p>\n
According to the results of the study, both B12 and folate levels were lower in the group with depressive symptoms than in those who were not depressed. <\/b>Regression models showed that participants with low B12 levels at baseline were significantly more likely to have depression four years later, but there was no such relationship for folate.<\/b><\/p>\n
Older adults with low B12 levels were 51% more likely to develop depressive symptoms over 4 years.This finding remained the same after controlling for relevant covariates such as physical activity, chronic disease burden, vitamin D level, cardiovascular disease, and antidepressant use.<\/p>\n
The findings reveal the effect of B12 level on depressive symptoms in the elderly and the importance of food supplementation policy in preventing depressive symptoms in older adults.<\/p>\n
SOURCE:
\n<\/b>\u2013 Laird, E., O’Halloran, A., Molloy, A., Healy, M., Hernandez, B., O’Connor, D., … Briggs, R. (2021). Low vitamin B12 but not folate is associated with incident depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults: A 4 years longitudinal study _ British Journal of Nutrition, 1-22. doi:10.1017\/S0007114521004748.
\n\u2013 Nalder, L., Zheng, B., Chiandet, G., Middleton, LT, & de Jager, CA (2020). Vitamin B12 and folate Status in Cognitively healthy Older adults oath associations with cognitive Performance. the Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 25(3), 287\u2013294. doi:10.1007\/s12603-020-1489-y.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The worldwide prevalence of B12 deficiency is estimated to be around 6%. However, the prevalence is higher in adults over 60 years of age.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2969,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[501],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n