Association of serum Vitamin B12 and serum 25(OH) Vitamin D with indicators of Metabolic syndrome

Background: Deficiency of Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D may play a fundamental role in various metabolic derangements leading to the development of metabolic syndrome (MS). Worldwide, the deficiencies of both vitamins are on the rise and have been linked to metabolic disorders in some studies. Aims and Objectives: The current cross-sectional study was undertaken with the objective to evaluate serum Vitamin B12 and serum 25-hydroxy (OH) Vitamin D concentrations in subjects with and without MS. Materials and Methods: The study population comprised of 50 adults with MS as cases confirmed by estimation of Fasting blood sugar/fasting plasma glucose, serum triglyceride (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure (BP), and waist circumference. Serum Vitamin B12 and serum 25(OH) Vitamin D levels were assessed in cases and controls (from a healthy population), followed by statistical analysis, with the significance level set at P<0.05. Results: The comparison of the serum Vitamin B12 and serum 25(OH) Vitamin D levels between the case and control groups revealed that the levels were significantly lower in the former (P<0.001, P=0.009), respectively, compared to the latter. Correlation analysis showed significant negative correlation of serum Vitamin B12 with waist circumference (ρ=−0.683, P=0.009), systolic BP (ρ=−0.710, P<0.001), and significant negative correlation of serum 25(OH) Vitamin D with fasting blood sugar (ρ=−0.870, P<0.001) and waist circumference (ρ=−0.880, P<0.001). The respective scatter plots confirmed the influence of serum Vitamin B12 and serum 25(OH) Vitamin D levels on the mentioned indicators of MS. Conclusion: The present study postulates a novel prospect that serum Vitamin B12 and serum 25(OH) Vitamin D deficiencies may be involved in the pathogenesis of MS in a population from eastern India, and the outcome suggests the association between serum Vitamin B12 and serum 25(OH) Vitamin D deficiencies and MS may be through obesity, hypertension and impaired glucose metabolism.