Frequency of Vitamin B12 Deficiency Amongst Elderly Patients Presenting with Dementia

Abstract

Background: A persistent and chronic illness called dementia is associated with cognitive decline, changes in personality, poor thinking, and problems with executive function. Various studies linked vitamin B12 deficiency with the dementia in elderly patients.

Objective: To find out the frequency of vitamin B12 deficiency amongst elderly patients presenting with dementia

Methodology: The current study was descriptive cross-sectional carried out at the Medicine Department, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Peshawar Cantt for duration of six months from January 2022 to June 2022. All the data like age, sex and other relevant information were recorded in the pre-designed Performa. IBM SPSS version 23 was used for the statistical analysis of the data.

Results: In the current study, totally 250 patients were enrolled. There were 188 (75.2%) males and 62 (24.8%) females with the mean (±SD) age of 81 (±2.99) years. Vitamin B12 deficiency was observed amongst 95 (38%) patients while it was not observed amongst 155 (62%) patients.  Based on the stratification of vitamin B12 level in serum with the age and gender, no significant association was observed (p˃0.05).  

Conclusion: In the current study we observed that the frequency of vitamin B 12 deficiency in elder patients with dementia was 38%. Other studies in multiple centers with large number of dementia should be carried out to get better results.

Key words: Vitamin B12 deficiency; Elderly patients; Dementia