Evidence map›Paper›PMID 15171677›Full record

ArticleCanadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien2004

Vitamin B12 deficiency. Prevalence among South Asians at a Toronto clinic.

Anil K Gupta, Alkarim Damji, Aparna Uppaluri

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed.

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  14. Glossitis secondary to vitamin B12 deficiency anemia.CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne · 2013
    Article
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  18. Vitamin B12 and health.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2008
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Anil K GuptaRexdale Community Health Centre, Ontario. patriciabaltazar@hotmail.com
Alkarim Damji
Aparna Uppaluri

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo estimate the prevalence of vitamin B12 deficiency in adult South Asian patients.

designRetrospective chart review.

settingFamily practice clinic in Toronto, Ont.

participantsRecords of 988 South Asian patients.

interventionOf 1000 randomly selected records, we found 988 charts. From charts with at least one documented B12 level, we extracted data on age, mean corpuscular volume (MCV), hemoglobin and ferritin levels, and diet (if available). Descriptive and analytic statistics were calculated.

main outcome measuresLevels of serum B12 and factors associated with low levels of B12.

resultsB12 results were documented in 49% of charts; 46% of results showed deficiency. Patients older than 65 and vegetarians were more likely to be B12 deficient. Low serum B12 levels were positively correlated with low hemoglobin and ferritin levels and poorly correlated with low MCV levels.

conclusionMany more South Asian patients than patients in the general population have vitamin B12 deficiency. A vegetarian diet seems a strong risk factor. A single low result, however, might not indicate true B12 deficiency.

Indexed as

AsianAdolescentAdultAgedAged, 80 and overDiet, VegetarianFemaleHumansIndiaMaleMiddle AgedOntarioPakistanPrevalenceRetrospective StudiesRisk Factors

Identifiers

PMID15171677
PMCPMC2214606

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.