Awareness of the Effect of Vitamin B12 Deficiency on the Nervous System Among the General Population in Taif, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Vitamin B12 is important for the health of the nervous system, its deficiency leads to various neurological manifestations such as visual problems, ataxia, peripheral neuropathy, dementia, etc. The deficiency can be caused by malnutrition, malabsorption, or increased demand. Early detection is important for the control and prevention of complications. In December 2021, a population-based cross-sectional survey was carried out among Saudi males and women at least 18 years old. There were 383 participants in the sample. An electronic survey distributed over social media was used to collect the data. SPSS version 28 was used to analyze the data. The majority of the respondents were female (88%). Most participants were aged 18-25 years (44%). Regarding participants' awareness and knowledge of vitamin deficiency, 64% were aware of vitamin B12 deficiency. 41.7% of participants knew about food sources of vitamin B12, 29.0% knew how to prevent it, and 30.0% took vitamin B12 supplements. (92.2%) of the participants were not following vegetarian or vegan diets. Difficulty concentrating accounted for the highest number of reported symptoms by the respondents (53.8%). This study recommends a scientific approach encouraging patients to self-report their B12 deficiency in medical institutions. In addition, a study about the relationship between B12 deficiency and other neurodegenerative disorders is also a recommendation of this study.