‘33% of adolescent boys deficient in Vitamin B12 and Folate’

Although deficiency of these vitamins can occur primarily as a result of insufficient dietary intake or malabsorption, various other factors such as gender, age and genetic, ethnic and socio cultural backgrounds are likely to influence their status

Hyderabad: A pan-India study by researchers from different national-level research organisations including Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), seeking to bridge a critical information gap on the prevalence of Vitamin B12 and (Folate) FA deficiency in Indian children and adolescents, has demonstrated that about a third (33 percent) of adolescent boys in India are likely to be deficient in B12 and FA.

The study, which was published on June 21, in Nutrients, an open access peer-reviewed journal of MDPI, said that 1,05,243 children and adolescents (10 years to 19 years) out of which preschool children were 31,058, school-age children were 38,355 and adolescents were 35,830.

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“The prevalence of Vitamin B12 and FA deficiency was high among adolescents (31 percent) compared to school going children (17.3 percent) followed by preschool children at 13.8 percent. The prevalence was significantly higher by 8 per cent and 5 per cent respectively in adolescent boys compared to girls. Our study bridges a critical information gap on the prevalence of B12 and FA deficiency among children and adolescents in India. The prevalence, however, is lower in younger age groups. These findings are important to inform nutrition policy in India,” the research group, which included senior scientist from NIN, Dr G Bhanuprakash Reddy, said.

The Folate deficiency happens when blood lacks the amount of Vitamin B9 (Folate) it needs to function properly while Vitamin B12 deficiency in the body lead to reduction of in health red blood cells (Anaemia).

Although deficiency of these vitamins can occur primarily as a result of insufficient dietary intake or malabsorption, various other factors such as gender, age and genetic, ethnic and socio cultural backgrounds are likely to influence their status.

The FA prevalence was higher among the participants with unimproved drinking water, the researchers in the study said.