Vitamin B12 deficiency is much more common than doctors previously thought. The incidence of vitamin B12 deficiency increases as we get older, and is especially present in people over age 65.
Once vitamin B12 deficiency is suspected, it shouldn't be hard to diagnose. A simple blood test can measure the amount of vitamin B12 in your blood and determine if you have a vitamin B12 deficiency. But it's actually not that easy to diagnose vitamin B12 deficiency.
Part of the problem in diagnosing vitamin B12 deficiency is that most doctors dont suspect it. The symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency are non-specific, especially at first, and could be caused by many things. These symptoms include:
- Loss of appetite
- Numbness and tingling in hands and feet
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Sore mouth and tongue
- Confusion
- Memory loss
There are a lot of more serious diseases that doctors check for before they begin to suspect vitamin B12 deficiency.
Another problem is that the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency develop gradually over a long period of time-up to several years. We store and reuse most of the vitamin B12 in our bodies, and only need to replace minute amounts. We usually have several years' worth of extra vitamin B12 stored in our liver. Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency don't develop and blood levels don't change until those liver stores are depleted.
Finally, some scientists believe that the established lab values for vitamin B12 deficiency are wrong, especially for elderly people. Symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can occur with "normal" lab values, and the symptoms get better with vitamin B12 supplementation. This suggests that vitamin B12 deficiency can occur when lab values are "normal," and that the "normal" needs to be readjusted.
The difficulties in diagnosing vitamin B12 deficiency can cause serious problems in the elderly because they are more vulnerable to vitamin B12 deficiency than younger people. Vitamin B12 deficiency can mimic or exacerbate dementia. A misdiagnoses of dementia can cause all sorts of ramifications for the patient, including being relocated to a nursing home. Thus, it is very important to identify vitamin B12 deficiency as the real problem.
Anyone over the age of 50 should consider taking vitamin B12 to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency. The oral form of vitamin B12 may not be adequately absorbed in older people. Up until recently this meant that vitamin B12 injections were the only alternative. Now there is an alternative to injections for vitamin B12 deficiency. A Vitamin B12 Patch is now available.
