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

9/14/22, 11:49 AM

Your source for the latest research news

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 current‐
ly 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, accord‐
ing to a study from Burkina Faso conducted by the University of Copenhagen and
Médecins Sans Frontières. B12 deficiency is an enormous, yet overlooked problem, and
the food relief we currently supply is not helping. According to the researchers, the prob‐
lem calls for new solutions.

In Denmark, cases of poor psychomotor development are regularly seen in young children raised on vegan di‐
ets, though such outcomes are preventable with daily B12 supplements. But for children in low-income coun‐
tries, 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 Copen‐
hagen conducted in collaboration with Médecins Sans Frontières (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 pro‐
fessor 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.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141353.htm Page 1 of 4
B12 deficiency harms young children's development, and the food relief we provide isn't good enough -- ScienceDaily 9/14/22, 11:49 AM

"B12 deficiency is one of the most overlooked problems out there when it comes to malnutrition. And unfortu‐
nately, 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 recom‐
mended 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 Médecins Sans Frontières and co-author of the study.

"Furthermore, longer-term relief programmes aren't realistic, as humanitarian organizations are trying to re‐
duce 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 be‐
come 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. Hand‐
ing 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 cur‐
rently 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:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141353.htm Page 2 of 4
B12 deficiency harms young children's development, and the food relief we provide isn't good enough -- ScienceDaily 9/14/22, 11:49 AM

"Individual households could be incentivized to keep chickens and perhaps goats, which a mother could man‐
age and use to provide access to animal-based foodstuffs. Finally, work needs to be done to develop ferment‐
ed 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 de‐
velopment 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 re‐
searchers 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:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141353.htm Page 3 of 4
B12 deficiency harms young children's development, and the food relief we provide isn't good enough -- ScienceDaily 9/14/22, 11:49 AM

1. Henrik Friis, Bernardette Cichon, Christian Fabiansen, Ann-Sophie Iuel-Brockdorff, Charles W. Yaméogo,
Christian Ritz, Ruth Frikke-Schmidt, André Briend, Kim F. Michaelsen, Vibeke B. Christensen, Suzanne Fil‐
teau, 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/jour‐
nal.pmed.1003943

Cite This Page:

MLA APA Chicago

University of Copenhagen - Faculty of Science. "B12 deficiency harms young children's development, and the
food relief we provide isn't good enough." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 May 2022.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141353.htm>.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503141353.htm Page 4 of 4