Perturbing Status of Vitamin B12 in Indian Infants and Their Mothers

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Updated: Mar 2, 2026

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
03:19

Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes

Published on: June 28, 2024

819

Medha Mittal1, Vijayashri Bansal1, Rahul Jain1

  • 11 Department of Pediatrics, Chacha Nehru Bal Chikitsalaya, New Delhi, India.

Food and Nutrition Bulletin
|May 18, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in Indian infants (57%) and their mothers (46%), impacting infant neurodevelopment. Early antenatal supplementation is crucial to address this widespread issue.

Area of Science:

  • Nutritional Science
  • Pediatrics
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Vitamin B12 deficiency in early life can impair brain development and cause neurodevelopmental issues.
  • Infant deficiency often stems from low maternal vitamin B12 levels.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the vitamin B12 status in exclusively breast-fed Indian infants aged 1-6 months.
  • To assess the vitamin B12 status of their mothers concurrently.

Main Methods:

  • Recruited 100 exclusively breast-fed infants (1-6 months) and their mothers.
  • Collected hemogram, serum vitamin B12, folate, and ferritin levels from each pair.

Main Results:

  • Identified a high prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in infants (57%).
  • Found 46% of mothers were vitamin B12 deficient.
  • Observed a positive correlation between infant and maternal vitamin B12 levels (r=0.23).

Conclusions:

  • High prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency exists in Indian infants and mothers.
  • Urgent need for vitamin B12 supplementation in the Indian population.
  • Antenatal supplementation is recommended as the optimal intervention strategy.
Abstract

Keywords:
anemiamethylationpancytopeniavegetarians

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