Increased Vitamin B12 Levels in Children with Zinc Deficiency

Abstract.Additional nutritional deficiencies may accompany zinc deficiency. We determined the vitamin B12 levels in patients with zinc (Zn) deficiency. This retrospective study enrolled 256 patients age 6 months to 16 years (176 females and 80 males) in whom Zn levels in hair samples were measured concurrently with serum vitamin B12 and ferritin levels. For all patients, we retrospectively assessed the hair Zn levels, serum ferritin and vitamin B12 levels, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and red cell distribution levels. Data were analyzed to determine whether there was a significant difference between any of these parameters and the presence of vitamin B12 deficiency between patients with and without Zn deficiency. In all 118 patients had Zn levels 100 μg/g. No significant differences were observed in ferritin levels, red blood cell parameters, or presenc...