ArticleBMC geriatrics2015
Vitamin B12 and folate levels in healthy Swiss senior citizens: a prospective study evaluating reference intervals and decision limits.
Article in BMC geriatrics, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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.
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.
Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of baseline vitamin B12 status on the effect of vitamin B12 supplementation on neurologic function in older people: secondary analysis of data from the OPEN randomised controlled trial.European journal of clinical nutrition · 2017Trial
- The Diagnostic Accuracy of Methylmalonic Acid to Detect Inadequate Vitamin B-12 Status Relative to 3cB-12 Was Higher Compared with That of Total Cobalamin and Total Homocysteine in a Cross-Sectional Survey of Apparently Healthy US Adults.Current developments in nutrition · 2026Article
- Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate, Nutritional Factors, and Their Relationships With Homocysteine in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.Journal of nutrition and metabolism · 2026Article
- Correlates of serum holo-Transcobalamin in the elderly general population.European journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Retrospective study to identify homocysteine reference intervals in healthy Chinese 60 years of age and above.Journal of medical biochemistry · 2023Article
- Folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin D status in healthy and active home-dwelling people over 70 years.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Clinical Pathobiochemistry of Vitamin BNutrients · 2023Review
- Personalising laboratory medicine in the 'real world': Assessing clinical utility, by clinical indication, of serum total BAnnals of clinical biochemistry · 2021Article
- Fewer US adults had low or transitional vitamin B12 status based on the novel combined indicator of vitamin B12 status compared with individual, conventional markers, NHANES 1999-2004.The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2021Article
- Profiling immuno-metabolic mediators of vitamin B12 deficiency among metformin-treated type 2 diabetic patients in Ghana.PloS one · 2021Observational
- Elevated Plasma Vitamin BJournal of clinical medicine · 2020Article
- Dynamics and interactions of cobalamin and folate status during advanced aging - a longitudinal study in a community-dwelling cohort with multiple follow-ups.Nutrition journal · 2020Article
- Diagnostic Accuracy of Holotranscobalamin, Vitamin B12, Methylmalonic Acid, and Homocysteine in Detecting B12 Deficiency in a Large, Mixed Patient Population.Disease markers · 2020Article
- The Elderly-Nutrient Rich Food Score Is Associated With Biochemical Markers of Nutritional Status in European Older Adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2019Article
- Article
- Association between hyperhomocysteinemia and stroke with atherosclerosis and small artery occlusion depends on homocysteine metabolism-related vitamin levels in Chinese patients with normal renal function.Metabolic brain disease · 2017Article
- Methylmalonic Acid and Homocysteine as Indicators of Vitamin B-12 Deficiency in Cancer.PloS one · 2016Article
- Biomarkers and Algorithms for the Diagnosis of Vitamin B12 Deficiency.Frontiers in molecular biosciences · 2016Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe vitamin B12 and folate status in nonanaemic healthy older persons needs attention the more so as decrease in levels may be anticipated from reduced haematinic provision and/or impaired intestinal uptake.
methodsA total of 1143 subjectively healthy Swiss midlands participants (637 females and 506 males), ≥60 years of age were included in this study. Levels of vitamin B12, holotranscobalamin (holoTC), methylmalonic acid (MMA), homocysteine (Hcy), serum folate, red blood cell (RBC) folate were measured. Further, Fedosov's wellness score was determined. Associations of age, gender, and cystatin C/creatinine-based estimated kidney function, with the investigated parameters were assessed. Reference intervals were calculated. Further, ROC analysis was done to assess accuracy of the individual parameters in recognizing a deficient vitamin B12 status. Finally, decision limits for sensitive, specific and optimal recognition of vitamin B12 status with individual parameters were derived.
resultsThree age groups: 60-69, 70-79 and ≥ 80 had median B12 (pmol/L) levels of 237, 228 and 231 respectively (p = 0.22), holoTC (pmol/L) of 52, 546 and 52 (p = 0.60) but Hcy (μmol/L) 12, 15 and 16 (p < 0.001), MMA (nmol/L) 207, 221 and 244 (p < 0.001). Hcy and MMA (both p < 0.001), but not holoTC (p = 0.12) and vitamin B12 (p = 0.44) were found to be affected by kidney function. In a linear regression model Fedosov's wellness score was independently associated with kidney function (p < 0.001) but not with age. Total serum folate and red blood cell (RBC) folate drift apart with increasing age: whereas the former decreases (p = 0.01) RBC folate remains in the same bandwidth across all age groups (p = 0.12) A common reference interval combining age and gender strata can be obtained for vitamin B12 and holoTC, whereas a more differentiated approach seems warranted for serum folate and RBC folate.
conclusionWhereas the vitamin B12 and holoTC levels remain steady after 60 years of age, we observed a significant increment in MMA levels accompanied by increments in Hcy; this is better explained by age-related reduced kidney function than by vitamin B12 insufficiency. Total serum folate levels but not RBC folate levels decreased with progressing age.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.