European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: Vegetarianism has been well known and commonly found in India since
ancient times. Animal products provide the only dietary source of vitamin B12. Vegetarianism
is a well-known risk factor for vitamin B12 deficiency. The aim of this study to determine the
prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency among vegetarian outpatients, between the age groups
of 18 and 60 years, visiting the internal medicine outpatient department of a tertiary level
teaching hospital.
Materials& Methods: A hospital based prospective study in department of medicine at
government S.K. Medical College, Sikar, Rajasthan, India during one year period. A
prevalence study for any factor is best done in the community – in a lot of situations that
would reduce the bias of a hospital study. This being a hospital study has its own limitations.
However as far as possible we wanted to choose a population in our hospital survey that
would most closely reflect the community or the general population at largeVegetarian
patients were defined as patients that had been consuming a diet devoid of any form of meat,
at least for three completed years prior to the date of recruitment. At the point of contact with
the subject in the outpatient department he or she also underwent certain biochemical and
haematological tests that included serum vitamin B12 and folate levels, and basic
haemograms.
Results: In our study population, 61.25% had levels below 200, 22.5% had levels
between200and300and16.25%hadlevelsabove300 pmol/L. The mean vitamin B12 levels in
the three groupsrespectively were 144.8, 269.2 and 233.4. There was no statistically
significant differencebetweenthe groupsbyANOVA. At various laboratory parameters among
the three varieties of dietconsumers – however the numbers were too small for any statistical
analysis betweenthem. Mean corpuscular values of less than or equal to 100fl were
European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine
ISSN 2515-8260 Volume 9, Issue 3, Winter 2022
10955
categorised asnormocytic category and anything higher than that was considered as
qualifying formacrocytosis. A folate level cut-off at 9.5 was also taken to look for prediction
ofvitaminB12 deficiency.
Conclusion: The vegetarian diet can be sustainable at all stages of life and in all
physiological conditions, including infancy, pregnancy, lactation, senescence and sports.
However, underestimating the correct supplementation of cobalamin (Cbl) can nullify these
benefits. It is also necessary that the diet be balanced and nutritionally adequate to reduce the
risks of other deficiencies which could indirectly affect the absorption of Cbl.