Abstract
Objective: It has been established that reduced vitamin B12 serum levels are associated with cognitive decline and mental illness. The chronic use of methamphetamine (MA), which is a highly addictive drug, can induce cognitive impairment and psychopathological symptoms. There are few studies addressing the association of MA with vitamin B12 serum levels. This study examined whether the serum levels of B12 are associated with MA addiction.Methods: Serum vitamin B12, homocysteine (Hcy), glucose and triglyceride concentrations were measured in 123 MA addicts and 108 controls. In addition, data were collected on their age, marital status, level of education and Body Mass Index (BMI) for all participants. In the patient group, the data for each subject were collected using the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), and a drug use history, which included the age of onset, total duration of MA use, the number of relapses and addiction severity.Results: Our results showed that MA addicts had lower vitamin B12 levels (p < 0.05) than those of healthy controls, but Hcy levels were not significantly different between the two groups (p > 0.05). Serum B12 levels were negatively correlated with the number of relapses in the MA group. Furthermore, binary logistics regression analysis indicated that the B12 was an influencing factor contributing to addiction severity.Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that some MA addicts might have vitamin B12 deficiency, and serum B12 levels may be involved in the prognosis of MA addiction.
Highlights
The problem of addiction to amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) has become a global public health problem
Vitamin B12 levels were significantly lower in the MA group than in healthy controls (Z = −5.37, p = 0.000)
The major findings of this study were that (1) B12 levels were significantly reduced in MA-dependent patients compared the healthy controls, (2) the decrease in B12 was correlated with the number of relapses, and (3) the decrease in B12 was a factor influencing the severity of drug addiction
Summary
The problem of addiction to amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) has become a global public health problem. The most common ATS is methamphetamine (MA). MA is highly addictive and can lead to psychiatric illnesses or cognitive defects(Curran et al, 2004; Scott et al, 2007; Jacobs et al, 2008). Psychotic symptoms induced by ATS include hallucinations, delusions (Bramness et al, 2012), depression (Sutcliffe et al, 2009), and anxiety(Bagheri et al, 2015). A strong relationship between cognitive defects or psychotic symptoms and substance abuse relapse or prognosis has been demonstrated in laboratory and clinical studies; treatment of cognitive and mental disorders may contribute to the prognosis of addiction (Liu et al, 2016).
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