Vitamin B12 Deficiency Cause of Severe Depression in Disabled Older Women?

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I thought this might be of interest.

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> Vitamin B12 Deficiency Cause of Severe Depression in Disabled Older Women?

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> Since recent detailed reviews suggest that CFS patients have been noted to

have a wide range of nutritional deficiencies, notably B vitamins,

additional studies may reveal insightful information into depression and the

CFS/FM patient.

>

http://www.immunesupport.com/redirect/emailbulletins/emmay12/link_imm71.cfm

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Vitamin B12 Deficiency Cause of Severe Depression in Disabled Older Women?

ImmuneSupport staff

According to a study, older women who are physically disabled and have a

vitamin B12 deficiency may be twice as likely to suffer from severe

depression than physically disabled women with no deficiency. This is the

first study to explore the relationship between vitamin B12 deficiency and

depression in a community-based population.

The National Institute on Aging in Bethesda, land, conducted this study

on 700 physically disabled, nondemented women, ages 65-100 years. Serum

levels of vitamin B12, folate, methylmalonic acid, and total homocysteine

were measured and the Geriatric Depression Scale was used to measure

depressive symptoms. Researchers found that vitamin B12 deficiency was

present in 14% of the 478 non-depressed subjects, 17% of the 100 mildly

depressed subjects, and 27% of the 122 severely depressed women. Final

results indicated that subjects with vitamin B12 deficiencies were 2.05

times more likely to be severely depressed as those not deficient in B12.

However, researchers note that because the study was cross-sectional,

cause-and-effect relationships cannot be proven and additional evidence will

be needed to make recommendations for the general population.

What does this mean to the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia

(FM) patient? Since recent detailed reviews suggest that CFS patients have

been noted to have a wide range of nutritional deficiencies, notably B

vitamins, additional studies may reveal insightful information into

depression and the CFS/FM patient