Vitamin B12 Deficiency Among a Sample of Type 2 Diabetic Patients on Metformin in Erbil-City

Abstract

Background and objectives:Metformin is the most common oral hypoglycemic agent used as first line together with life style modification in almost all type 2 diabetes patients worldwide. The aim of the study was to determine the percentage of vitamin B12 deficiency in a sample of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and its association with the daily dose metformin (? 1.000 mg) and more than two years durations of treatment and anemia. Methods:A cross-sectional study was carried out on a sample of 100 adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who attended the diabetic center and two General Teaching Hospitals in Erbil city during the period from the 1st of June to the end of December 2017. Vitamin B12 level, hemoglobin concentration, and other biochemical indicators of all recruited patients were obtained. Results: The mean age (+SD) of diabetic patients was 54.35 (± 9.71) years and the range was between 24 to 75 years. More than half of the patients (57%) had poor glycemic control and about one third (29%) of patients had vitamin B12 level less than 200 pg/ml. Patients with obesity, longer duration of disease and on high dose of metformin had a significantly higher level of vitamin B12 deficiency. Conclusions:vitamin B12 deficiency is common among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus especially among those using high dose of metformin for a long time. Therefore, identifying low vitamin B12 level among diabetic patients raises the concern to the patients for the future complications and challenge for the clinicians for management.