Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 15, 2026
Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
Published on: June 28, 2024
Vitamin B12 Deficiency in Infants
Meltem Akcaboy1, Baris Malbora, Pelin Zorlu
1Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Children's Health and Diseases Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Insights
Infant vitamin B12 deficiency presents with diverse symptoms including infections, pallor, and developmental delays. Prompt diagnosis and treatment with cyanocobalamin improve clinical and laboratory findings.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Hematology
- Neurology
Background:
- Vitamin B12 deficiency is a critical concern in infants, potentially leading to severe health issues.
- Maternal vitamin B12 status significantly impacts infant health, particularly in breastfed infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and describe the varied clinical manifestations of vitamin B12 deficiency in infants.
- To highlight the importance of considering vitamin B12 deficiency in the differential diagnosis of infant illnesses.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of hospital records for infants aged 1-20 months diagnosed with vitamin B12 deficiency.
- Evaluation included clinical history, physical examination, laboratory tests (hematology, serum B12), and imaging.
- Diagnosis was confirmed by maternal and infant nutritional history, clinical signs, and low serum vitamin B12 levels.
Main Results:
- Twenty infants were studied, with common symptoms including infections (30%), pallor (25%), hypotonia/neurodevelopmental delay (25%), and feeding difficulties (20%).
- Anemia (80%), leukopenia (15%), neutropenia (35%), and thrombocytopenia (10%) were observed.
- All affected infants were breastfed, and their mothers also had vitamin B12 deficiency. Treatment with cyanocobalamin led to significant improvement.
Conclusions:
- Vitamin B12 deficiency presents with a wide spectrum of symptoms in infants, affecting hematological, neurological, and gastrointestinal systems.
- It is crucial to include vitamin B12 deficiency in the differential diagnosis for infants presenting with unexplained disturbances.
- Early detection and supplementation are vital for reversing the adverse effects of vitamin B12 deficiency in infants.
Objective:
To determine different clinical presentations of vitamin B12 deficiency in infants.
Methods:
Infants at the age of 1-20 mo admitted to infancy clinic of authors' hospital between January 2011-2013 with various clinical presentations due to vitamin B12 deficiency were included in the study. Hospital records of all the patients were evaluated by means of history, physical, laboratory, imaging examinations and treatment. The diagnosis was based on a nutritional history of mothers and infants, clinical findings, hematological evaluation, and low level of serum vitamin B12.
Results:
A total of 20 patients with a mean age of 6.65 ± 4.5 mo were included in the study. The weight and height were below the third percentile in four patients. The most common symptoms of the patients were; infections in 30 %, pallor in 25 %, hypotonia and neuro-developmental delay in 25 %, refusal to solid food or to suck in 20 %, failure to thrive in 15 %, fatigue in 10 %. Twenty-five percent of patients had neurologic signs and symptoms. Anemia was found in 16/20 (80 %) patients. Three (15 %) patients had leukopenia, 7 (35 %) had neutropenia, 2 (10 %) patients had thrombocytopenia. All of the mothers had vitamin B12 deficiency. All of the patients were fed with breast milk. Cyanocobalamin was administered to all the patients and mothers. After the treatment, clinical and laboratory findings of all the patients improved.
Conclusions:
Vitamin B12 deficiency should be considered in the differential diagnosis of some hematological, neurological, and gastrointestinal disturbances of infants.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Vitamins
01:20Inborn Errors of Metabolism
01:22Development of Immunocompetence
The initial cells that migrate from the fetal thymus settle within the skin and epithelial tissues lining the mouth, digestive tract, and in females, the uterus and vagina. These cells, including skin-based dendritic cells, serve as antigen-presenting cells, playing a key role in T cell activation.
Subsequent T...
01:35Pedigree Analysis
01:29Drug Dosing: Infants and Children
01:07Teratogenicity