Association of Bone Mineral Density with Vitamin B12 Levels in Patients Aged 65 Years and Over

Background: With the ageing world population, osteoporosis becomes a major health issue. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies are the preventable causes of osteoporosis; and data regarding the effects of vit B12 deficiency on bone mineral density (BMD) remain conflicting. Consequently, we aimed to investigate the effects of vit B12 deficiency, which is common in patients older than 65 years of age, on osteoporosis. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 118 patients aged 65 and over who were admitted to the internal medicine outpatient clinics of the hospital. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on their vit B12 levels: vit-B12 levels lower than 200 pg/mL (group 1), between 200 and 300 pg/mL (group 2) and over 300 pg/mL (group 3). BMDs obtained from the total hip, femoral neck and lumbar spine regions were compared between groups. Serum Ca, folate, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free T4 (FT4) levels were also compared between groups. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between groups regarding femur neck BMD (p < 0.001). Conclusion: We found that the bone mineral density at the femur neck was lower when we were below vit B12 level 300 pg/ml. We recommend that bone mineral density must be measured in elderly people who are found to have vit B12 deficiency. Copyright (C) 2019, Taiwan Society of Geriatric Emergency & Critical Care Medicine.