Faculty of Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Research Center, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Faculty of Medical Sciences, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon.
PLoS One. 2024 Apr 17;19(4):e0297976. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0297976. eCollection 2024.
Vitamin B12 deficiency is responsible for a variety of complications, particularly neurological/neuropsychiatric complications, including depression, irritability, paresthesia and insomnia. Since vitamin B12 is found in animal-derived products, vegans/vegetarians are at a greater risk for developing vitamin B12 deficiency.
This study aims to investigate the occurrence of vitamin B12 deficiency among a sample of adult Lebanese population, with a particular emphasis on assessing the severity of its neurological/neuropsychiatric signs and symptoms, especially among vegans/vegetarians.
A cross-sectional study was conducted among a sample of 483 Lebanese adults. Data was collected through a standardized questionnaire that included socio-demographic characteristics, the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized anxiety disorders-7 (GAD-7), and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) scales.
Among the participants, 11.4% were in the vegan/vegetarian group, and about 43.1% had vitamin B12 deficiency. After analyzing the PHQ-9, GAD-7 and ISI total scores, higher scores were reported in participants with vitamin B12 deficiency, compared to individuals with normal vitamin B12 serum levels (p < 0.001). Regarding the diet type, vegans/vegetarians were more susceptible to developing depression compared to omnivores (mean scores of 11.92 vs 8.02 on the PHQ-9 scale, respectively, with p < 0.001). Of the patients with vitamin B12 deficiency, 81.1% reported having paresthesia compared to 43.7% of individuals with no vitamin B12 deficiency (p < 0.001).
Vitamin B12 deficiency in Lebanon is notably high and is linked to an increased risk of developing depression, generalized anxiety disorder, insomnia, and paresthesia. Vegans/vegetarians exhibit a higher susceptibility to developing depression compared to omnivores, whereas the risk of developing insomnia, generalized anxiety disorder and paresthesia was statistically insignificant when comparing vegans/vegetarians to omnivores.
维生素 B12 缺乏可导致多种并发症，特别是神经/神经精神并发症，包括抑郁、易怒、感觉异常和失眠。由于维生素 B12 存在于动物源性产品中，因此素食者患维生素 B12 缺乏症的风险更高。
本研究旨在调查黎巴嫩成年人群中维生素 B12 缺乏的发生情况，特别强调评估其神经/神经精神体征和症状的严重程度，尤其是素食者。
对 483 名黎巴嫩成年人进行了横断面研究。通过标准化问卷收集数据，其中包括社会人口统计学特征、患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）、广泛性焦虑障碍-7（GAD-7）和失眠严重程度指数（ISI）量表。
参与者中，11.4%为素食者，约 43.1%存在维生素 B12 缺乏。在分析 PHQ-9、GAD-7 和 ISI 总分后，与维生素 B12 血清水平正常的个体相比，维生素 B12 缺乏的参与者报告的总分更高（p<0.001）。就饮食类型而言，素食者比杂食者更容易出现抑郁（PHQ-9 量表的平均得分分别为 11.92 和 8.02，p<0.001）。在维生素 B12 缺乏的患者中，81.1%报告有感觉异常，而无维生素 B12 缺乏的患者中只有 43.7%（p<0.001）。
黎巴嫩的维生素 B12 缺乏症显著升高，与抑郁、广泛性焦虑障碍、失眠和感觉异常的发生风险增加相关。与杂食者相比，素食者更容易出现抑郁，而比较素食者和杂食者时，失眠、广泛性焦虑障碍和感觉异常的风险无统计学意义。
