Key result
Active vitamin B12 demonstrated higher sensitivity (82.35% vs 65%) and specificity (46.6% vs 43.8%) compared to total vitamin B12 for diagnosing true vitamin B12 deficiency.
Why the study?
Measurement of total vitamin B12 raised concerns over early detection of deficiency due to clinical unreliability, prompting an assessment of active vitamin B12 efficacy.
Does active vitamin B12 measurement improve diagnostic accuracy for true vitamin B12 deficiency compared to total vitamin B12 in patients referred for testing?
Observational (n=100)
No
Does active vitamin B12 measurement improve diagnostic accuracy for true vitamin B12 deficiency compared to total vitamin B12 in patients referred for testing?
Active vitamin B12 (holo-transcobalamin) is a more sensitive and specific biomarker than total vitamin B12 for the early and accurate diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Active B12 may aid deficiency detection in referred patients; leaves open need for prospective outcome validation before routine adoption.
Objective Measurement of total vitamin B12 (vit B12) concentration raised concerns over early detection of vit B12 deficiency due to its clinical unreliability. In this present article we aimed to assess the efficacy of active vit B12 for the detection of true vit B12 deficiency. This retrospective study included 100 participants referred for vit B12 assay. Serum total vit B12, active vit B12 and homocysteine were estimated. Results Our study showed 59% of the total participants with vit B12 deficiency (185 ± 64.62 pg/ml) and 18% with hyper-cobalaminemia (1666.9 ± 367.13 pg/ml) based on their total vit B12 concentrations. A comparative study on total vit B12 and active vit B12 was done which reflected a striking disparity in results. Active vit B12 reported 28.8% patients with vit B12 deficiency (19.8 ± 17.48 pg/ml) and only 16.6% patients with hyper-cobalaminemia (224.14 ± 10 pg/ml). Active vit B12 appeared to be more sensitive (82.35%vs 65%) and specific (46.6% vs 43.8%) diagnostic marker compared to total vit B12. Pearson Correlation study indicated a strong positive correlation (r = 0.695 at p < 0.01) hence justified use of the two methods. Therefore, we claim that active vit B12 is a much more reliable biomarker than total vit B12 for early diagnosis of vit B12 deficiency.
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Dastidar et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Vitamin B12 deficiency (n=100). Active vitamin B12 (holo-transcobalamin) assay vs. Total vitamin B12 assay was evaluated on Sensitivity for true vitamin B12 deficiency. Active vitamin B12 demonstrated higher sensitivity (82.35% vs 65%) and specificity (46.6% vs 43.8%) compared to total vitamin B12 for diagnosing true vitamin B12 deficiency.
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