B12 - Teenager

[High_Valour]

Hi All

Does anyone have any knowledge of B12 levels for teenagers and of possible PA?

My daughter has been displaying some symptoms, exhaustion upon exercise (previsuly fine), tingling toes / fingers, vision issues and stiff clicking bones. She is 14.

We have recently had NHS bloods undertaken and her B12 was 204 (ref 150 - 1000ng) and her ferritin was 41 (ref 12-250ug). Her folate was 12.5 (ref 2-18ug).

My view is that the B12 is low notwithstanding a green light from our GP. I am slightly unsure about the ferritin level but my starting point is that I would like this to be higher and I would like to explore possible low iron.

Does anyone have any advice or experience of addressing a B12 deficiency in teenagers - is this B12 low or is it normal to be lower as a teenager? If so, is the protocol to address this similar to an adult (spray / lozenge) or should we tread carefully if her kidney / liver is still growing to its adult status. Finally, should be explore PA at this point (she has no gut issues which would cause absorption issues that we are aware of).

Many Thanks

HV

[fbirder]

What is her diet like?

Lots of teenagers try to minimise the amount of good healthy red meat they consume. As a result low B12 is becoming more common. If she is not eating plenty of meat/fish then try some B12 tablets first.

Although eggs and dairy do contain some B12, it’s not a lot. You’d need to eat a 2-egg cheese omelette washed down with a glass of milk every single day to get enough.

[Dakota17777]

I was diagnosed at age 19 with no gut problems but tons of symptoms of b12 deficiency. I later got diagnosed with PA. I would definitely test her for it.

[Martin_12]

This Dutch page (which, before COVID-19, was linked by the PAS) suggests that normal serum B12 is higher in teenagers than in adults.

stichtingb12tekort.nl/weten...

The page contains the following: "A vitamin B deficiency in children (under 19 years) is defined as a serum B12 value of < 229 pmol/L or a MMA value > 0.26 to 0.29 ųmol/L"

229 pmol/L is equivalent to 310 ng/L. (1 pmol B12 = 1.3554 ng B12).

References are given at the bottom of the page.

[Frenchiebabe]

Teenagers would still need same amount of B12 but their diet is often poor - so review iron before B12