Be careful of vitamin B12 deficiency, can affect nervous system

 Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that your body needs for processes like DNA synthesis, energy production, and central nervous system function.

As per a study around 20% of people over the age of 60 in the United States and the United Kingdom are deficient in the vitamin. This is often due to limited dietary intake, malabsorption, medical conditions, or the use of B12-depleting medications

B12 deficiency is often misdiagnosed, often due to inadequate laboratory testing or because the symptoms are not specific.

Most common symptoms of B12 deficiency and how this deficiency is diagnosed and treated.

Fatigue

If you’re low or deficient in B12, you’ll likely feel fatigued.

Your body’s cells need B12 to function properly. As such, having inadequate B12 levels can decrease normal red blood cell production, which can impair oxygen delivery. Specifically, a deficiency in B12 can cause megaloblastic anemia. This condition leads to the formation of large, abnormal, and immature red blood cells and impaired DNA synthesis

Pale or yellow skin

Like the condition called iron deficiency anemia, anemia related to B12 deficiency may make your skin pale due to a lack of fully-matured, healthy red blood cells in the body.

B12 deficiency can also cause a condition called jaundice, which makes your skin and the whites of your eyes take on a yellowish color due to high levels of bilirubin.

Headaches

Headaches are among the most commonly reported symptoms related to B12 deficiency in both adults and kids.

A 2019 study with 140 people, half of whom experienced migraine, found that blood levels of B12 were significantly lower in the participants with migraine. Those with the highest B12 levels were 80% less likely to have migraine compared with participants with the lowest B12 levels.

Depressive symptoms

B12 deficiency is associated with a greater risk of developing depression.

A 2020 study with 132 children and teens, 89 with and 43 without depression, found that the participants with depression had lower B12 levels and higher levels of homocysteine compared with those without depression.

In addition to depressive symptoms, low or deficient B12 levels may lead to other mental conditions, including psychosis and mood disorders.

Gastrointestinal issues

A B12 deficiency may also cause diarrhea, nausea, constipation, bloating gas, and other gastrointestinal symptoms.

Because a deficiency in B12 negatively impacts the central nervous system, people with low or deficient B12 levels may feel foggy-headed and have difficulty concentrating and completing tasks.