How Does B12 Deficiency of Mothers Affect Their Infants?

Abstract

Background: Vitamin B12 cannot be synthesized in the body and it is essential for growth and development in humans. Objectives: To evaluate the vitamin B12 levels between the mothers and their infants who presented to the Pediatric Hematology outpatients department due to the symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency. We also compared the effects of low B12 levels in both the mother and the child, compared to the effects of normal B12 levels in the mother and low levels in the child. Methods: We enrolled 303 children aged 2 - 18 months between January 2013 and September 2015. Patients with a vitamin B12 level < 200 pg/mL in both the mother and the child and patients with a B12 level that was low in the child and normal in the mother were compared. Results: The birth weight of the children was low in the group where the B12 level of both the mother and the child (n = 163) was low and presentation to the clinic with neurologic signs and symptoms such as tremor, restlessness, seizure, hypotonia, and macrocephaly not related to another etiologic reason was common (P < 0.05). A remarkable finding was the simultaneous low levels of vitamin B12 in the mother in 55 of the 69 children who presented with neurological symptoms (P < 0.05). A generalized or focal epileptic pathology was found in the EEGs and MR images including retardation in myelination, demyelination, atrophic findings or ventricular dilatation in children whose mothers have B12 deficiency simultaneously. Conclusions: It is difficult to explain such complicated clinical pictures due to malnutrition especially in developing countries. Detecting and treating vitamin B12 deficiency early in mother and child is very important in prevention of potential irreversible neurological problems.