B-12 Status Associated w/ Bone Mineral Content, Density in Frail Elderly.
I’m a very big fan of Vitamin B12, especially in my senior patients. It is a very common deficiency due to poor absorption from decreased stomach acid. It is also very cheap, coming in at a few dimes/day. Unfortunately, many docs do not recognize the signs of deficiency or look at only abnormals on bloodwork. I consider lab values for B12 to be a little unpractical, since you can give about 2 years worth of B12 for what a methylmalonic acid blood test would cost, and I just assume most elderly are deficient anyway. Many clinicians, however, have a distorted view of B12 evaluation and treatment (see below…)
nutrition.org — Abstracts: Dhonukshe-Rutten et al. 133 (3): 801