A Cross-Sectional Study of Serum Folate and Vitamin B12 Levels in Psychiatric Inpatients

To assess the pattern of serum folate and vitamin B₁₂ levels in psychiatric inpatients compared with nonpsychiatric controls.

An observational cross-sectional study was conducted with 100 psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with psychiatric illness for the first time per ICD-10 criteria and their age-matched caregivers at a super-specialty center in northern India (from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2012). Complete blood counts and serum levels of vitamin B₁₂, folate, and homocysteine were measured in all patients and caregivers, who were sharing the same kitchen as that of the patients.

Twenty-five percent of the patients were found to have low levels of serum vitamin B₁₂, which was significant compared with healthy controls (P < .001). Similarly, the difference in homocysteine levels between the patient and control groups was significant (35% vs 13%, P = .012).

A significant proportion of psychiatric patients were found to be vitamin B₁₂ deficient. In-depth studies are required to establish the cause-effect relationship between vitamin B₁₂ deficiency and psychiatric illness and the effect of vitamin B₁₂ replacement.