Comparison of Vitamin B12 Levels and Cardiovascular Disease Risk Groups
Abstract
Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin involved in various metabolic processes. It plays a crucial role in the prevention of anemia, the maintenance of healthy neuronal function, and DNA synthesis. Moreover, vitamin B12 acts as a cofactor in homocysteine metabolism. Elevated homocysteine levels have been associated with a range of endothelial alterations and have been linked to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In Turkey, CVD-related mortality remains the leading cause of death. However, the relationship between vitamin B12 deficiency and the risk of CVD has not yet been clearly established in the academic literature. In this retrospective cross-sectional study, we aimed to compare individuals' vitamin B12 levels across different CVD risk groups. A total of 128 participants were included, with 32 individuals in each risk group. Using the SCORE (Systemic Coronary Risk Evaluation) risk model, we compared vitamin B12 levels across four CVD risk categories. The differences in vitamin B12 levels among the CVD risk groups were not statistically significant (p=0.209), and no correlation was found (p>0.05). Given that cardiovascular diseases continue to pose a major public health concern, further studies are needed to identify additional parameters that may assist in the identification of high-risk individuals.
Keywords
Heart diseases, Risk assessment, Vitamin B12
Project Number
24237859-758
Ethical Statement
For this research, ethics committee approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, dated September 7, 2021, with the reference number 24237859-758.
Thanks
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Prof. Dr. Turan Set, Head of the Department at Karadeniz Technical University, for his invaluable guidance, support, and contributions throughout this study.
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