Homocytiene levels and b12 deficiency - connection between anaemia and depression...

[Newhealth]

Hi, Wondering if anyone has seen the research on homocysteine levels and depression, as we all know elevated homocystiene is an indicator of p.anemia but I had no idea it was also correlated with depression. I find the winter months a bit tough so I thought I'd share that in case anyone is wondering if there's a connection this article is interesting. vitaminb12direct.com/vitami...

Would love to know if anyone else has any other resources on this. In conjunction to this article I found a 2015 study that found that 22% of depressed patients had pernicious anaemia. Seems like homocystiene levels and vitamin b12 deficiency are a much more dynamic actor in all of this than anyone previously thought. Any additional studies on this topic are welcomed in understanding this more. Wishing everyone a good day!

[wedgewood]

It is much easier to get some pills for “ depression” if you go to your GP with PA symptoms , than it is to get diagnosis and treatment for PA . You will have seen many instances of this if you read the postings on this forum . I have experienced this myself . That’s why I had to resort to a private GP who correctly diagnosed my P.A. Just the fact of consulting a GP with your P.A. symptoms and being regarded as a ‘nut case’ is quite capable of bringing on depression . Yes my Homocysteine level was high before I commenced treatment ,but now treating myself with injections , it is down to 7 .

[Newhealth in reply to wedgewood]

Indeed, I amazed at how hard it is for people to get simple vitamin B12 injections which as long as injected properly and in sterile conditions have been shown to be safe. On the other hand there is a tendency to push pills on you which can have serious consequences if there's a mi-diagnosis. It's a strange inconsistency in the medical communities perception of something that affects a rather large percentage of the population. I get the sense that things may be slowing changing, in Canada anyway. At any rate that's great you got the HCY level down! Seems like HCY affects on multiple levels. Folks with PA may have an advantage in that we monitor that level whereas it may go completely over other people's heads.

[fbirder]

I'm not sure if anybody has found that high levels of hCys causes depression. It's much more likely that whatever causes the high levels of hCys also causes the depression.

Just about any symptom of a B12 deficiency will have a correlation with high hCys. But a lot of those symptoms will be caused by things like a lack of S-adenosyl methionine.

[Newhealth in reply to fbirder]

Absolutely, it's a bit up in the air but it's interesting that b12 and HCY affect us so broadly.

Cheers

[Gambit62 Administrator]

correlation = an observed relation between one factor and another factor

causal relationship = changes in one factor cause changes in another factor.

orrelations are useful as a way of identifying where to look for a causal mechanism - ie the underlying that provides the link.

Shoe size tends to correlate to height but that doesn't mean that your height is determined by how big your feet are .... or that you height determines how big your feet are. The linking factor is the way the human body tends to be proportioned.

As fbirder says - the article is talking about an observed correlation between homocysteine levels and mood but the causal factor is most likely the vitamin deficiency (folate or B12) that is ALSO causing the raised homocysteine levels ... more precisely it is the efficiency with which the methionine synthase process is running due to the deficiencies.