Prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency in elderly population (>60 years) presenting with dementia to outpatient department

• Published in: Medical journal. Armed Forces India Vol. 78; no. 1; pp. 94 - 98
• Main Authors: Sashindran, V.K., Aggarwal, Vivek, Khera, Anurag
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Elsevier B.V 01.01.2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Cognitive decline; Dementia; Mini mental status examination; Original; Vitamin B12 deficiency; Cognitive decline; Mini mental status examination; Alzheimer's disease; Vitamin B12 deficiency; Dementia
• ISSN: 0377-1237; 2213-4743
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mjafi.2020.11.003

Vitamin B12 deficiency is an easily treatable cause of reversible dementia. It is likely to be more common in Indian population due to traditionally vegetarian culture. This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency in elderly patients (>60 years) with dementia attending outpatient department. This study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was a cross sectional observational study to estimate the prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency in the elderly population with dementia. The second phase was a pilot study done in subjects with Vitamin B12 deficiency to assess the change in cognition following Vitamin B12 supplementation. Out of 2920 study eligible subjects, 200 were diagnosed as dementia with Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE) score of ≤ 24. Vitamin B12 deficiency was seen in 7.5% of patients. Vitamin B12 deficiency was associated with shorter and more severe dementia. Macrocytosis was more common in Vitamin B12 deficiency (p value < 0.001) where as vegetarian diet did not show significant correlation (p value 0.69). There was significant improvement in the median MMSE score in the intervention group with increase in MMSE by 2 points at 6-8 weeks and 3 points at 12 weeks (p value 0.009 and 0.003 by Mann Whitney test). Prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency in dementia was 7.5%. It was associated with macrocytosis, shorter duration and more severe dementia. There was a significant improvement in median MMSE score at 6 weeks and 12 weeks following Vitamin B12 supplementation.