Saxena S, Carmel R
Am J Clin Pathol. 1987 Jul;88(1):95-7. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/88.1.95.
Studies from Africa have demonstrated that black people have higher vitamin B12 (cobalamin) levels than do white people. The authors compared healthy white people, black people, and Latin-Americans in the United States. Their study is also the largest in which the effect of race and sex on the cobalamin levels has been examined. Analysis of 233 healthy subjects showed that black people had significantly higher (P less than 0.0001) vitamin B12 levels than did white people. Latin-Americans had levels intermediate between those of white and black people, although their levels were significantly different only in comparison with white people (P = 0.0029). Based on the study of 305 healthy subjects, no sex difference in vitamin B12 levels was noted. Conflicting claims have been made on sex difference in the past. The authors conclude that there is a racial but not a sex difference in vitamin B12 levels in the United States. Like African black people, black people and Latin-Americans in this country have significantly higher vitamin B12 levels than do white people. This finding supports the thesis that genetic factors contribute to the racial differences in vitamin B12 levels.
非洲的研究表明，黑人的维生素B12（钴胺素）水平高于白人。作者对美国的健康白人、黑人及拉丁裔进行了比较。他们的研究也是规模最大的一项，考察了种族和性别对钴胺素水平的影响。对233名健康受试者的分析显示，黑人的维生素B12水平显著高于白人（P小于0.0001）。拉丁裔的水平介于白人和黑人之间，不过只有与白人相比时其水平才有显著差异（P = 0.0029）。基于对305名健康受试者的研究，未发现维生素B12水平存在性别差异。过去对于性别差异存在相互矛盾的说法。作者得出结论，在美国，维生素B12水平存在种族差异，但不存在性别差异。与非洲黑人一样，该国的黑人和拉丁裔的维生素B12水平显著高于白人。这一发现支持了遗传因素导致维生素B12水平存在种族差异这一论点。
