Associations between Folate and Vitamin B12 Levels and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Meta-Analysis.

Yun Pan,Haizhuo Guo,Ya Liu,Majid Sakhi Jabir,Weiwei Cui,Xuanchen Liu,Dong Li

doi:10.3390/nu9040382

Abstract

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients may be at risk of vitamin B12 and folate insufficiencies, as these micronutrients are absorbed in the small intestine, which is affected by IBD. However, a consensus has not been reached on the association between IBD and serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations. Methods: In this study, a comprehensive search of multiple databases was performed to identify studies focused on the association between IBD and serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations. Studies that compared serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations between IBD and control patients were selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Results: The main outcome was the mean difference in serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations between IBD and control patients. Our findings indicated that the average serum folate concentration in IBD patients was significantly lower than that in control patients, whereas the mean serum vitamin B12 concentration did not differ between IBD patients and controls. In addition, the average serum folate concentration in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) but not Crohn’s disease (CD) was significantly lower than that in controls. This meta-analysis identified a significant relationship between low serum folate concentration and IBD. Conclusions: Our findings suggest IBD may be linked with folate deficiency, although the results do not indicate causation. Thus, providing supplements of folate and vitamin B12 to IBD patients may improve their nutritional status and prevent other diseases.

Highlights

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by chronic and typically recurrent intestinal inflammation, and it includes Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)
The following terms were used for the literature search: folic acid, vitamin B9, vitamin M, folvite, folate, vitamin B12, cyanocobalamin, cobalamins, inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis
We reviewed all of the relevant studies and extracted the following data: (1) lead author, publication year, sample size, mean age of the patients and controls, and gender of the patients and controls; (2) serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations of the patients and controls; (3) folate andvitamin vitamin

Summary

Introduction

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by chronic and typically recurrent intestinal inflammation, and it includes Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Studies that compared serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations between IBD and control patients were selected for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Results: The main outcome was the mean difference in serum folate and vitamin B12 concentrations between IBD and control patients. Our findings indicated that the average serum folate concentration in IBD patients was significantly lower than that in control patients, whereas the mean serum vitamin B12 concentration did not differ between IBD patients and controls. The average serum folate concentration in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) but not Crohn’s disease (CD) was significantly lower than that in controls. This meta-analysis identified a significant relationship between low serum folate concentration and IBD. Providing supplements of folate and vitamin B12 to IBD patients may improve their nutritional status and prevent other diseases

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion