Vitamin B12 deficiency can affect young patients’ cognitive development; new study

Our bodies do not store B12, and it must be a part of our daily regimen to avoid vitamin B12 deficiency and its health impacts

A new study shows that Vitamin B12 is essential to young children’s health in several ways. Vitamin B12 deficiency can not only lead to anemia, but it can also impede brain growth and cognitive development in children.

Vitamin B12 deficiency in infants leads to poor motor development and anemia, according to a study from Burkina Faso conducted by the University of Copenhagen and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). Although vitamin B12 deficiency in children is a problem, it is often ignored in low-income countries. About 50 million children across the globe are considered acutely malnourished, but only a small portion of those children receive any form of emergency food relief.

In addition, vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that comes from our diets or through supplements. If a mother is deficient in vitamin B12 and is breast-feeding a child, that child is also deficient in B12, and the child’s ability to absorb the vitamin is reduced.  For children who are on vegan diets or have little to no access to foods rich in vitamin B12, such as organ meats, fish, or fortified cereals, their daily needs are not met, and can develop into anemia and poor motor development. Food relief in some countries hasn’t helped; our bodies do not store this vitamin, and it must be a part of our daily regimen.

More than 1,000 children ranging in age from 6 months to 23 months were a part of the study. They all were in acute stages of malnutrition. The children’s B12 levels were measured before and after they received daily food relief containing recommended daily amounts of B12 for three months. About 75% of the children were found to have low or marginal levels of B12 when the study began.

The children’s B12 levels increased while they were receiving the food relief, but when the program ended, their levels dropped. Considering the fact that typical food relief lasts for only four weeks, the researchers surmised that children’s B12 levels were not improving or remaining at improved levels by the end of a typical four-weeks food relief program. After the three-month period, approximately one-third of the children in the study still had below optimum levels.

Food relief programs are unable to continue long term, as their goals are to reach as many children as possible for a given amount of money. A child can typically absorb 1 microgram of B12 in one meal, making the time necessary to replenish and build B12 levels much longer than a food relief program can provide meals. And in many countries, the number of children with malnutrition is much higher than the program’s financial reach.

The human body cannot produce vitamin B12, and supplements may not be cost effective to offer to the masses. Researchers mention options, such as creating incentives to those who would keep livestock such as chickens or goat, to introduce animal-sourced vitamin B12 to their diet. Another suggestion is to develop a fermented product with B12-producing bacteria.

Regardless of the location, children need an adequate daily amount of vitamin B12 for proper brain health and to prevent anemia and vitamin B12 deficiency. Children who are on vegan or vegetarian diets should be including plant foods that offer the highest possible amounts of B12, such as certain types of seaweed or algae, nutritional yeast, and fortified cereals and supplements

Resources

https://neurosciencenews.com/b12-deficiency-developmental-neuroscience-20519/)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5015033/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/vitamin-b12-foods#foods-list

https://www.livestrong.com/article/209271-b12-vitamin-supplements-for-children/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9089476/

https://www.webmd.com/diet/what-are-plant-food-sources-vitamin-b12