Prevalence and Indicators of Vitamin B12 Insufficiency among Young Women of Childbearing Age

Sara Al-Musharaf, Philip G. McTernan, Syed Danish Hussain, Khalid Abdullah Aleisa, Abdullah M. Alnaami, Kaiser Wani, Ponnusamy Saravanan and Nasser Al-Daghri
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Sara Al-Musharaf: Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Philip G. McTernan: Department of Biosciences, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham NG1 8NS, UK
Syed Danish Hussain: Chair for Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases, Riyadh Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Khalid Abdullah Aleisa: College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah M. Alnaami: Chair for Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases, Riyadh Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Kaiser Wani: Chair for Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases, Riyadh Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Ponnusamy Saravanan: Population, Evidence & Technologies, Division of Health Sciences, Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry CV2 2DX, UK
Nasser Al-Daghri: Chair for Biomarkers of Chronic Diseases, Riyadh Biochemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 18, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Vitamin B12 insufficiency is a global health issue among women of childbearing age, yet few studies have investigated its prevalence and risk factors among healthy Middle Eastern populations. This cross-sectional study included 346 Saudi women aged 19–30 years and enrolled at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A series of questionnaires were administered to record the study participants’ sociodemographic status, medical history, dietary intake, and physical activity. Participants’ anthropometric data were also recorded and their fasting blood samples were analyzed. The rate of vitamin B12 insufficiency (≤220 pmol/L) was approximately 6% among the study participants. After adjusting for confounding factors, it was observed that the risk factors for vitamin B12 insufficiency included daily sitting time ≥ 7 h, low income (<10,000 Saudi riyal) and increasing age. The recommended dietary allowance of vitamin B12 (>2.4 mcg/day) has been shown to confer reasonable protection against vitamin B12 insufficiency. These study findings highlight that a combination of increased physical activity and dietary vitamin B12 intake above the current recommended dietary allowance may help improve the serum vitamin B12 levels of young women of childbearing age, especially those with a low socioeconomic status. Timely detection and protection against vitamin B12 insufficiency in this subpopulation are important to prevent maternal and fetal health risks.

Keywords: women; sedentary; physical activity; vitamin B12 insufficiency; vitamin B12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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