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- Title
Vitamin B<sub>12</sub> (cobalamin) deficiency in elderly patients.
- Authors
Andrès, Emmanuel; Loukili, Noureddine H.; Noel, Esther; Kaltenbach, Georges; Abdelgheni, Maher Ben; Perrin, Anne E.; Noblet-Dick, Marie; Maloisel, Frédéric; Schlienger, Jean-Louis; Blicklé, Jean-Frédéric
- Abstract
VITAMIN B12 OR COBALAMIN DEFICIENCY occurs frequently (> 20%) among elderly people, but it is often unrecognized because the clinical manifestations are subtle; they are also potentially serious, particularly from a neuropsychiatric and hematological perspec-tive. Causes of the deficiency include, most frequently, food-cobalamin malabsorption syndrome (> 60% of all cases), perni-cious anemia (15%--20% of all cases), insufficent dietary intake and malabsorption. Food-cobalamin malabsorption, which has only recently been identified as a significant cause of cobalamin deficiency among elderly people, is characterized by the inability to release cobalamin from food or a deficiency of intestinal cobal-amin transport proteins or both. We review the epidemiology and causes of cobalamin deficiency in elderly people, with an empha-sis on food-cobalamin malabsorption syndrome. We also review diagnostic and management strategies for cobalamin deficiency.
- Subjects
VITAMIN B12; VITAMIN B12 deficiency; DISEASES in older people; VITAMIN deficiency; MALABSORPTION syndromes; INTESTINAL diseases; ANEMIA
- Publication
Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), 2004, Vol 171, Issue 3, p251
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1503/cmaj.1031155