Frequency of comorbid diseases with high serum Vitamin B12 levels in patients attending King Salman Medical City (KSAMC), at Madinah

Authors

  • Zakia A. Abu-Zahab Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Hina Qureshi Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Gihan M. Adham Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Wafaa M. Elzefzafy 3. Hepatogastroentrology and infectious disease Faculty of Medicine for Girls Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
  • Sahar S. Zalam Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Abeer M. Rihan Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Manal F. Ali Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Amany A. Bayoumy Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Sinna K. Alkarkosh Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Waad G. Fakhouri Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Ahmed Y. Yousif Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Salwa A. Alkhawaga Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Lama M. El-Attar Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Amany Bayoumy Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Sahar S. Amin Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.
  • Ranin A. Al-Refaei Madinah General Hospital, King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Medical City, Madinah Munnawarah.

Keywords:

Diabetes mellitus, hematological disorders, hyperthyroidism, liver diseases, solid tumors, Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)

Abstract

Objectives: Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin or Cbl) plays a crucial role in normal human growth and development, as well as in neurological, cardiovascular, and immune systems. Previous studies reported association of high levels of cobalamin with solid cancers, hematological disorders, and liver diseases. Reporting the frequency of comorbid diseases with high serum Vitamin B12 level in patients attending KSAMC at Madinah.

Methods: This is a retrospective, cross-sectional study on data collected during 1 year (May 2022–May 2023) from 3511 report, patients with high cobalamin blood level (normal upper limit 771 pg/mL) as determined in our laboratory on COBAS® were included. Patient’s clinical diagnosis, medication history and other laboratory parameters performed were also checked for disease
comorbidities.

Results: Our results revealed statistically significant increase in serum Vitamin B12 in patients with diabetes mellitus, with the use of this vitamin as supplement therapy 53.2% (the predominant comorbidity), together with liver, blood, chest, kidney, thyroid and neurological diseases, and various solid tumors. A positive correlation was found between serum Vitamin B12, age and laboratory parameters including aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and direct bilirubin, and a negative correlation was seen between serum Vitamin B12 level, serum albumin (ALB), red
blood cell count, hemoglobin, and free T3 (FT3). While, no significant correlation with the rest of the checked parameters was detected.

Conclusion: This study found high serum level of Vitamin B12 associated with various disease entities, for example, (diabetes mellitus treated with Vitamin B12 as supplement therapy, liver, blood, chest, kidney, thyroid, neurological diseases, and various solid tumors), so when Vitamin B12 is high, further investigations will be recommended. Most of the comorbidities were benign in Saudis, followed by Egyptians with predominance of female-aged 50–70 year old.

Downloads

Published

2025-01-01

How to Cite

Abu-Zahab , Z. A., Qureshi, H., Adham, G. M., Elzefzafy, W. M., Zalam, S. S., Rihan, A. M., Ali, M. F., Bayoumy, A. A., Alkarkosh, S. K., Fakhouri, W. G., Yousif, A. Y., Alkhawaga, S. A., El-Attar, L. M., Bayoumy, A., Amin, S. S., & Al-Refaei, R. A. (2025). Frequency of comorbid diseases with high serum Vitamin B12 levels in patients attending King Salman Medical City (KSAMC), at Madinah. International Journal of Health Sciences, 19(1), 15–21. Retrieved from https://pub.qu.edu.sa/index.php/journal/article/view/8628

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2025): Jan-Feb

Section

Original Paper

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.


Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

    1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

    1. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

  1. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).