Vitamin B12 Serum Levels of Six to Nine-monthold Infants According to Feeding Practices
Journal Title: The Journal of Pediatric Research - Year 2020, Vol 7, Issue 1
Abstract
Aim: Vitamin B12 is naturally obtained from animal-derived foods and is important for the development and wellbeing of babies. Vitamin B12 deficiency is a general health concern in developing countries. This study aimed to investigate the effects of different feeding practices on vitamin B12 levels and hemogram parameters in infants aged 6-9 months. Materials and Methods: A total of 120 infants (61 boys, 59 girls) aged 6-9 months were retrospectively evaluated. These babies were assigned to three groups according to feeding practices: 1) only breast milk, 2) breast milk and formula, and 3) only formula in addition to complementary foods. Laboratory data (vitamin B12, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, white blood cell count, and absolute neutrophil count) of the patients were retrospectively compared. Results: The mean and median age of the patients was 6.6±1.1 months. The vitamin B12 levels in babies that only received formula were statistically significantly higher than those in babies taking only breast milk or taking both breast milk and formula (p<0.05). Furthermore, vitamin B12 levels were significantly lower in babies receiving only breast milk than in those receiving both formula and breast milk (p<0.001). Conclusion: This study showed that vitamin B12 levels were lower in babies that only received breast milk compared to those in babies receiving formula. The babies that were receiving formula only had the highest levels of vitamin B12. This study determined that breast milk alone was not sufficient to maintain normal levels of vitamin B12 in 6 to 9-month-old babies in the region. Therefore, both mothers and babies should be provided with the necessary support in terms of vitamin B12 levels, and prophylaxis should be discussed from the viewpoint of preventive healthcare services.
Authors and Affiliations
Hüseyin Dağ, Melike Özberk Koç, Okan Dikker, Hasan Dursun
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP685462
- DOI 10.4274/jpr.galenos.2019.00377
- Views 137
- Downloads 0
Evaluation of Patients Diagnosed with Brain Death in Paediatric Critical Care
Aim: We aimed to investigate the rate of brain death (BD) determinations and organ donations in our tertiary pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), and to report the data on demographic pattern and supplementary descripti...
An Investigation of Pediatric Nurses’ Oral Care Practices
Aim: Oral care is a standard practice used to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia in intensive care units and in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced oral mucositis. This research examines the oral care practices of...
Clinical Features of COVID-19 in Children
In early December, pneumonia cases of unknown origin started to appear and, on the 7th of January 2020, these cases were declared to be caused by a novel beta-coronavirus according to viral genome sequencing on the 11th...
Evaluation of Six Patients with Chromosome 18 Structural Anomalies and Novel Findings
Aim: Structural chromosome 18 anomalies are characterized by multiple congenital anomalies and intellectual disability. In this study, 6 cases with structural anomalies of chromosome 18 diagnosed by using conventional an...
Evaluation of the Relationship between Mucosal Diseases and Faecal Calprotectin Levels in Children who Underwent Upper Gastrointestinal System Endoscopy
Aim: In this study, the correlation of faecal calprotectin (FC) levels with endoscopic and histopathological findings was evaluated in children who underwent upper gastrointestinal system (UGIS) endoscopy. Materials and...