B12 deficiency harms young children's development, and the food relief
we provide isn't good enough

Date:
May 3, 2022
Source:
University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Science
Summary:
Vitamin B12 deficiency in infants leads to poor motor development
and anemia, according to a new study . B12 deficiency is an
enormous, yet overlooked problem, and the food relief currently
suppied is not helping.

According to the researchers, the problem calls for new solutions.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Vitamin B12 deficiency in infants leads to poor motor development
and anaemia, according to a study from Burkina Faso conducted by the
University of Copenhagen and Me'decins Sans Frontie`res. B12 deficiency
is an enormous, yet overlooked problem, and the food relief we currently
supply is not helping.

According to the researchers, the problem calls for new solutions.


==========================================================================
In Denmark, cases of poor psychomotor development are regularly seen in
young children raised on vegan diets, though such outcomes are preventable
with daily B12 supplements. But for children in low-income countries, the chances of ever meeting their vitamin B12 requirements are far worse. This
is reflected in widespread B12 deficiency among young children in Burkina
Faso, according to a study from the University of Copenhagen conducted
in collaboration with Me'decins Sans Frontie`res (Doctor's Without
Borders). The results have been published in the journal Plos Medicine.

A lack of vitamin B12 doesn't just potentially lead to anaemia, it can
damage the nervous system. And for young children, B12 is crucial for
brain development.

"Among the many children who participated in our study, we found a strong correlation between vitamin B12 deficiency and poor motor development and anaemia," says Henrik Friis, first author of the study and a professor
at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Nutrition, Exercise
and Sports.

For many years, there has been a focus on vitamin A, zinc and iron
deficiencies when it comes to malnutrition across the globe, whereas
there is a paucity of research on B12 deficiency.

"B12 deficiency is one of the most overlooked problems out there when
it comes to malnutrition. And unfortunately, we can see that the food
relief we provide today is not up to the task," says Henrik Friis, who has worked with nutrition and health in low-income countries for many years.



==========================================================================
Over 1,000 children with acute malnutrition aged 6-23 months participated
in the study. The children's B12 levels were measured both before and
after three months of daily food relief rations containing the recommended
B12 content.

When the study began, two-thirds of the children had either low or
marginal levels of B12.

Short term food relief does not fill up B12 stores "During the period
when children were provided with food relief, their B12 levels increased, before decreasing considerably once we stopped the programme.

Despite provisioning them with food relief for three months, their stores remained far from topped up. This, when a typical food relief programme
only runs for four weeks," says Henrik Friis.

Even after three months of food relief, one third of the children
continued to have low or marginal levels of B12 stored. The unfortunate explanation is that there is a cap on how much B12 can be absorbed.

"A child's gut can only absorb 1 microgram of B12 per meal. So, if a
child is lacking 500 micrograms, it will take much longer than the few
weeks that they have access to emergency food relief," explains Vibeke
Brix Christensen, a pediatrician and medical advisor to Me'decins Sans Frontie`res and co-author of the study.



========================================================================== "Furthermore, longer-term relief programmes aren't realistic, as
humanitarian organizations are trying to reduce the duration of treatment regimens with the aim of being able to serve a larger number of children
for the same amount of money," continues Vibeke Brix Christensen.

She points out that it might make a difference to divide the necessary
amount of vitamin B12 across several meals, which would probably allow
children to absorb the same amount of B12 each time. But the problem is
that if widespread B12 deficiency appears among children in low-income countries, it is difficult to do anything about it.

New solutions needed on the table Preventing B12 deficiency would be
the best course of action. Unfortunately, lasting solutions have yet to
become readily available according to Professor Friis.

Because our bodies cannot produce B12 on their own, we need to
have it supplied to us through animal-based products or synthetic
supplements. However, in many low-income countries, access to animal-based foods is incredibly difficult for the general population. One might
wonder, are tablets or fortified foodstuffs the way to prevention?
"Possibly, but the problem in low-income countries is poorly resourced and
weak health care systems. Handing out tablets to millions and millions
of people is not cost-effective. And to enrich foods with B12, it must
be added to foodstuffs that are accessible to the poor. This requires industrial expansion, as many people currently eat only what they can
produce themselves.

Furthermore, it requires legislation that it is not based on voluntary participation," says Henrik Friis, who has greater faith in other
types of solutions: "Individual households could be incentivized to
keep chickens and perhaps goats, which a mother could manage and use
to provide access to animal-based foodstuffs. Finally, work needs to
be done to develop fermented products with B12 producing bacteria --
something that doesn't yet exist, but towards which researchers and
companies are already working," concludes Henrik Friis.

The researchers are in dialogue with UNICEF's Supply Division, based in Copenhagen, about how products to treat moderate to acute malnutrition
can be improved.

FACTS: VICIOUS CIRCLE
* B12 deficiency can be transmitted from mother to child. If a
mother is
B12 deficient, her child will be born B12 deficient as well,
before receiving breast milk with too little B12 in it. A child's
B12 deficiency can affect the formation and regeneration of their
intestinal cells.

Consequently, the child's capacity to absorb B12 and other vital
nutrients will be reduced. In this way, B12 deficiency contributes
to the development of malnutrition.

ABOUT ACUTE MALNUTRITION
* Since 2010, the Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports
(NEXS) at
the University of Copenhagen has worked with the WHO and UNICEF,
among others, with a focus on improving the emergency food relief
used to combat childhood malnutrition.

* According to UNICEF, approximately 200 million children under the
age of
five suffer from malnutrition worldwide. Malnutrition contributes
to the death of three million children every year.

* Acute malnutrition in children is characterized by children who
are too
thin in proportion to their height. Globally, it is estimated
that approximately 50 million children are acutely malnourished,
with two thirds of these suffering from moderate malnutrition and
the remaining third suffering from severely acute malnutrition.

* Today, only about 20% of severely malnourished children receive
emergency
food relief.

ABOUT THE STUDY
* 1,609 children from Burkina Faso with moderate to acute malnutrition
participated in the study. The researchers were able to measure
cobalamin serum levels in 1,192 of these children.

* The children received three different types of food relief
rations, all
of which met with WHO standards.

* The study is a reanalysis of data collected in Burkina Faso
under the
research project TREATFOOD.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Copenhagen_-_Faculty_of_Science. Note: Content may be
edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Henrik Friis, Bernardette Cichon, Christian Fabiansen, Ann-Sophie
Iuel-
Brockdorff, Charles W. Yame'ogo, Christian Ritz, Ruth
Frikke-Schmidt, Andre' Briend, Kim F. Michaelsen, Vibeke
B. Christensen, Suzanne Filteau, Mette F. Olsen. Serum cobalamin
in children with moderate acute malnutrition in Burkina Faso:
Secondary analysis of a randomized trial.

PLOS Medicine, 2022; 19 (3): e1003943 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pmed.1003943 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141353.htm

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