Low vitamin B12 linked to postural orthostatic tachycardia

(HealthDay)—During adolescence, low vitamin B₁₂ levels are associated with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), according to a study published online Dec. 23 in Pediatrics.

Taliha Öner, M.D., from Dr. Behçet Uz Children's Hospital in Izmir, Turkey, and colleagues examined the correlation between vitamin B₁₂ levels and POTS during adolescence. Serum vitamin B₁₂, folic acid, and ferritin levels were assessed in 125 patients (mean age, 11.1 years; 60 percent female) reporting short-term loss of consciousness and diagnosed with vasovagal syncope, and 50 control subjects (mean age, 10.94 years; 62 percent female).

The researchers found that patients had significantly lower levels of vitamin B₁₂ versus controls (352.75 versus 411.32 pg/mL; P < 0.001), and that a low vitamin B₁₂ level was significantly more prevalent in the patient versus the control group (47.2 versus 18 percent; P < 0.001). Within the patient group, vitamin B₁₂ levels were significantly lower in children with the POTS pattern than those without the POTS response (P = 0.03).

"Our study shows the association between the etiopathogenesis of POTS and the vitamin _B12 deficiency-induced sympathetic nervous system-baroreceptor dysfunction," the authors write.