Original Article VITAMIN B12 AND NON-VEGETARIANISM: MYTH vs REALITY
VITAMIN B12 AND NON-VEGETARIANISM: MYTH vs REALITY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15713/ins.bhj.179Keywords:
B12 deficiency, anemia, vegetarian, non-vegetarian.Abstract
Background: Vitamin B12 deficiency has traditionally been linked to a vegetarian diet in medical texts, for decades. This alone, is probably only the tip of the iceberg. Hence, there is a dire need to know the other possible causes of this deficiency in our country. The number of such studies so far is rather scant.
Objective: Our study aims to measure the prevalence of Vitamin B12 deficiency in healthy volunteers and to compare the levels between vegetarians and non-vegetarians, for statistical significance.
Materials and Method: We carried out a comparative, single-centre study to analyse the levels of B12 in vegetarians and non-vegetarians. This was done at a Local Medical College in Mumbai, India, from March 2018. Data was collected over a period of one year. A sample size of 102 healthy volunteers were screened. We included students from the college between the ages of 18-22 years. They were divided into two groups, viz vegetarian and non-vegetarian based on their dietary patterns.
Results: 50 subjects were on a vegetarian diet and 52 were on a non-vegetarian diet. 75 individuals (73.5%) were found to be B12 deficient. 78% of vegetarians and 59.3% of non-vegetarians were deficient. However, statistical analysis showed no significant difference between the mean and median serum B12 levels between vegetarian (148.46) and non-vegetarian (172.02) groups (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Vitamin B12 deficiency is rampant amongst both vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indians. Clinicians should have a high index of suspicion in not only vegetarian but also non-vegetarian populations.
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Author details
Nishtha Nagral
DNB MED
Resident DNB Gastroenterology- Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, India
Dr.J.G Saluja
MB (Cal) Phd.(Med. Bioch) Phd.(Micro)DND
Ex HOD & Prof Pathology CMPH Medical College Irla Vile Parle West
Dr. Sanjeev S. Khanna
MD: MNAMS, MACG
Consulting Gastroenterologist- Holy Spirit, Max Nanavati, Criticare Hospital, Mumbai, India
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