Effect of Maternal Vitamin B₁₂ Status and Supplementation on Child Neurodevelopment and Cognition: A Systematic...

This review aims to systematically evaluate clinical and observational studies that assessed the influence of maternal vitamin B₁₂ supplementation and status on child neurodevelopment and cognition. Vitamin B₁₂ plays an essential role in fetal neurodevelopment. However, to date, no study has focused on gathering conclusions about the effect of supplementation and maternal levels of vitamin B₁₂ on neurodevelopment, focusing on child cognition. Therefore, the databases consulted included PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase. The PRISMA guideline was used to conduct and report the review, and the risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool (version 2) (RoB 2) for randomized controlled trials and Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies - of interventions (ROBINS-I). The PROSPERO registration number is CRD42023476614.

Eleven studies were reviewed, including four randomized controlled trials and seven observational studies. The results demonstrated that maternal vitamin B₁₂ supplementation has an impact on the cognitive and language domains in children up to 42 months of age. Observational studies have also reported an association between maternal vitamin B₁₂ levels and overall neurodevelopment in children under two years of age. This systematic review highlights the importance of assessing maternal vitamin B₁₂ levels during pregnancy, considering potential adverse effects on child neurodevelopment. Given the limited number of included studies, particularly clinical trials, further research is required to clarify the findings of this review.