ReviewMedical hypotheses2021
COVID-19's toll on the elderly and those with diabetes mellitus - Is vitamin B12 deficiency an accomplice?
Review in Medical hypotheses, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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
21 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The role of vitamin B12 in viral infections: a comprehensive review of its relationship with the muscle-gut-brain axis and implications for SARS-CoV-2 infection.Nutrition reviews · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Folic Acid and Endothelial Dysfunction in COVID-19.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Vitamin BFrontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- 'Grasshopper sign': the novel imaging of post-COVID-19 myelopathy with delayed longitudinal white matter abnormalities.BMJ neurology open · 2024Article
- Vitamin B12 effectiveness in the management of hospitalized COVID-19 and its clinical outcomes and complications: A randomized clinical trial.Health science reports · 2023Article
- Determinants of vitamin B12 deficiency in patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus - A primary-care retrospective cohort study.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Immunomodulatory Role of Microelements in COVID-19 Outcome: a Relationship with Nutritional Status.Biological trace element research · 2023Review
- Relationship between high dose intake of vitamin B12 and glaucoma: Evidence from NHANES 2005-2008 among United States adults.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Modifiable contributing factors to COVID-19: A comprehensive review.Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association · 2023Review
- Nutritional management of individuals with obesity and COVID-19: ESPEN expert statements and practical guidance.Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) · 2022Article
- COVID-19 Salivary Protein Profile: Unravelling Molecular Aspects of SARS-CoV-2 Infection.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- The impact of vitamin and mineral supplements usage prior to COVID-19 infection on disease severity and hospitalization.Bosnian journal of basic medical sciences · 2022Article
- Article
- Effects of nutrients on immunomodulation in patients with severe COVID-19: Current knowledge.World journal of critical care medicine · 2022Review
- Drug repurposing based on a quantum-inspired method versus classical fingerprinting uncovers potential antivirals against SARS-CoV-2.PLoS computational biology · 2022Article
- Suboptimal Consumption of Relevant Immune System Micronutrients Is Associated with a Worse Impact of COVID-19 in Spanish Populations.Nutrients · 2022Article
- COVID-19-Associated Myelitis Involving the Dorsal and Lateral White Matter Tracts: A Case Series and Review of the Literature.AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology · 2021Review
- Drug repurposing based on a Quantum-Inspired method versus classical fingerprinting uncovers potential antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 including vitamin B12.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2021Article
- The underlying mechanisms for severe COVID-19 progression in people with diabetes mellitus: a critical review.AIMS public health · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
COVID-19 exacts a disproportionate toll on both the elderly and those with diabetes; these patients are more likely to require costly intensive care, longer hospitalisation, and die from complications. Nations would thus find it extremely difficult to either lift or sustain socially, economically, and politically damaging restrictions that keep this group of people safe. Without a vaccine, there is thus an urgent need to identify potential modifiable risk factors which can help manage overall fatality or recovery rates. Case fatality rates are highly variable between (and even within) nations; nutritional differences have been proposed to account significantly for this disparity. Indeed, vitamin B12 deficiency is a common denominator between the elderly and those with diabetes. The question on hand thus lies on whether managing B12 deficiencies will impact COVID-19 fatality outcome or recovery rates. Herein, we review the latest evidence that shows that B12 deficiency associates in multiple areas very similar to where COVID-19 exerts its damaging effects: immunologically; microbiologically; haematologically; and through endothelial cell signalling-supporting the hypothesis that B12 deficiency is a potential modifiable risk factor in our fight against COVID-19.
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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.