Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27446930›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in molecular biosciences2016

Biomarkers and Algorithms for the Diagnosis of Vitamin B12 Deficiency.

Luciana Hannibal, Vegard Lysne, Anne-Lise Bjørke-Monsen, Sidney Behringer, Sarah C Grünert, Ute Spiekerkoetter, Donald W Jacobsen, Henk J Blom

Erratum issuedOpen access · goldAbstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in molecular biosciences, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 181 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
181citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
22.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
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

181 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 328 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Pooled it
  5. Vitamin BNutrients · 2019
    Pooled it
  6. Trial
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  11. A 2-Year Randomized Controlled Trial With Low-Dose B-Vitamin Supplementation Shows Benefits on Bone Mineral Density in Adults With Lower B12 Status.Journal of bone and mineral research : the official journal of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research · 2022
    Trial
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  16. Article
  17. Vitamin BEuropean journal of nutrition · 2026
    Article
  18. Association of vitamin D and B12 levels with actigraphic sleep in cognitively unimpaired middle-aged and older adults.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2026
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Article

121 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.

Luciana HannibalLaboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, Department for Pediatrics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Freiburg, Germany.
Vegard LysneDepartment of Clinical Sciences, University of Bergen Bergen, Norway.
Anne-Lise Bjørke-MonsenDepartment of Clinical Biochemistry, Haukeland University Hospital Bergen, Norway.
Sidney BehringerLaboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, Department for Pediatrics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Freiburg, Germany.
Sarah C GrünertLaboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, Department for Pediatrics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Freiburg, Germany.
Ute SpiekerkoetterLaboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, Department for Pediatrics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Freiburg, Germany.
Donald W JacobsenDepartment of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Cleveland, OH, USA.
Henk J BlomLaboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, Department for Pediatrics, Medical Center, University of Freiburg Freiburg, Germany.
University Medical Center Freiburg · DEUniversity of Freiburg · DECleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine · USHaukeland University Hospital · NOUniversity of Bergen · NO

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Vitamin B12 (cobalamin, Cbl, B12) is an indispensable water-soluble micronutrient that serves as a coenzyme for cytosolic methionine synthase (MS) and mitochondrial methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MCM). Deficiency of Cbl, whether nutritional or due to inborn errors of Cbl metabolism, inactivate MS and MCM leading to the accumulation of homocysteine (Hcy) and methylmalonic acid (MMA), respectively. In conjunction with total B12 and its bioactive protein-bound form, holo-transcobalamin (holo-TC), Hcy, and MMA are the preferred serum biomarkers utilized to determine B12 status. Clinically, vitamin B12 deficiency leads to neurological deterioration and megaloblastic anemia, and, if left untreated, to death. Subclinical vitamin B12 deficiency (usually defined as a total serum B12 of <200 pmol/L) presents asymptomatically or with rather subtle generic symptoms that oftentimes are mistakenly ascribed to unrelated disorders. Numerous studies have now established that serum vitamin B12 has limited diagnostic value as a stand-alone marker. Low serum levels of vitamin B12 not always represent deficiency, and likewise, severe functional deficiency of the micronutrient has been documented in the presence of normal and even high levels of serum vitamin B12. This review discusses the usefulness and limitations of current biomarkers of B12 status in newborn screening, infant and adult diagnostics, the algorithms utilized to diagnose B12 deficiency and unusual findings of vitamin B12 status in various human disorders.

Indexed as

cobalamindiagnostic algorithmfunctional deficiency of B12holo-transcobalaminhomocysteinemethylmalonic acidvitamin B12

Identifiers

PMID27446930
PMCPMC4921487
OpenAlexW2462300305

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.